Fatherless
by Hotchsbabewriter
Summary: Emily and Hotch have been dating for over a year, yet no one knows about their relationship. Emily gets tired of being a secret and she gives Aaron and ultimatum. He doesn't respond so Emily breaks up with him. Then something unexpected changes their lives forever. Will he ever get the guts to tell her he loves her and fight for her?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: To Hell With Everything

They had been at his apartment for over an hour…Aaron was tired and all he wanted to do was go to bed and curl up with her and watch movies. However, they had been arguing since arriving back at his place, and he knew things weren't about to get any better. She was upset, and he got that, but this wasn't really a conversation he was ready to have yet. At least not tonight; honestly, he wasn't really sure when he would be ready for it…maybe that sounded a little sneaky but it was the truth. Aaron cared for her, he knew that, he truly loved her, but there was so much more to it. He had only been divorced officially for 18 months, and he was barely single for a couple of months when they started, whatever it was that they had started. As of today, they had been "together" for sixteen months. Well, they had been very good friend for longer than that, because she had been there when he needed her the most, through his divorce and the most difficult times of his life, she was his best friend, and he knew he loved her, so what was the problem? 

Well, the problem was until today, no one knew about their relationship, or whatever it was that they had. When they first started over a year-and-a-half ago, they didn't really want the team to find out, especially not Strauss since both their jobs could be jeopardized. They loved their friends, yes, but there were things they simply couldn't trust them with. Not that that it was a bad thing, of course; Hotch was happy, happier than he had ever been. She understood him better than anyone in this world, she made him smile, she lit up his days, she was amazing in so many different ways. They got along so well, they hardly ever argued, except for nights like tonight, but the majority of the time, they got along great. Their sex life was beyond belief; she truly was everything a man could ever ask for. She was beautiful, driven and intelligent, a great listener and simply an amazing woman; he never thought he would feel like this about anyone after Haley, but with Emily, everything was so different…she showed him how to smile again, how to love and how to feel again. How to enjoy simple things like cuddling up on the couch on a snowy day and watching movies.

Everything was great. Maybe their friends didn't know about their secret relationship, but who cared? Why did people need to know how happy they were? Everything was great, or at least he thought it was…until tonight. There was a dinner party at his brother's work; Sean had called and asked Aaron to come, they had not seen each other in a long time, and the younger brother thought it was a great idea for both Hotchner men to reconnect. The party was beautiful. It was just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, and everything was simply gorgeous. Aaron, of course, had asked Emily to come with him, and she was happy to go, too. They had been working a lot, and maybe they needed some time for themselves. They could have a great time at the party with Aaron's family, since his parents would be there, too. Emily thought it would be a perfect opportunity to meet her possible future in-laws and his brother. She was really looking forward to it, and she dressed impeccably in a long black lace mermaid dress. She looked utterly beautiful, and Hotch made sure to tell her more than several times.

Unfortunately, things didn't go the way Emily was expecting them to go. The party was awesome, and in fact, everything around her was just divine. The problem was Aaron had made the mistake of introducing her to his parents and brother as his friend, and that broke her heart into a million pieces. Maybe he had not done it intentionally, he was just used to telling people that, in fact, they had been very careful about how they conducted their relationship in public, but Emily had thought that it was time, at least for his parents, to know they were in a relationship and they were happy, or at least she thought he was happy; but apparently not, and he had proven that to her tonight. After that introduction, she had acted very indifferently toward him the rest of the night. She didn't even bother to say goodbye to his parents as she angrily made her way back to their car.

The ride back was like a silent tomb despite the attempt of Hotch to make conversation and try to find out what was wrong with her; it wasn't until they were back at the apartment that the argument really started. Emily couldn't avoid the situation any longer, and she exploded. She simply couldn't understand why he had introduced her as a friend and not his "girlfriend", but honestly, he didn't even have an answer to that, he truly didn't even know why. He did love her, that was a fact, maybe it was just routine and he was used to hiding their relationship that he introduced he as a friend, and now as he watched the fuming brunette in front for him, he struggled to find reasons to explain to her why he had done what that.

"Just tell me why you asked me to go with you if you didn't want me there." She asked him in an obviously hurt voice, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I did want you there, Emily, I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want you to come." Aaron said tired, trying to calm down the raging brunette beauty.

"Maybe you should have asked JJ or Garcia, or even Dave. I mean, after all, we are just "YOUR FRIENDS!...wait you aren't fucking them...you are only fucking me " She said sarcastically.

"Come on, Em don't be like that, I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that…I wasn't thinking, and I wasn't really prepared to answer questions about us." He tried to explain.

"They are your family, Aaron, they wouldn't have cared, they would have been happy for you." She said, as a tear finally slid down her cheek.

"Baby, please don't cry, I said I'm sorry, please, let's go to bed and forget about this." He said, trying to pull her into his arms and hug and kiss her, but she pulled away forcibly.

"No, don't, okay? Just don't. You can't just kiss me and think everything will be okay." She said angrily, moving away from him.

"Emily, please..."

"Just tell me why you are ashamed of me?." She asked, hurt with tears in her eyes.

"What! I'm not ashamed of you, Emily, how could you even think that!" He tried to get close to her.

"Then why are we still hiding me from everyone? We've been together for almost sixteen months, Aaron. I can't be a game for you always."

"Hey, hold it there, you aren't a game for me, Emily, and we talked about this, we can't tell the team, Em...we need to be careful with this."

"They are our friends, Aaron, they'll never say anything, they'll be happy for... us. I can't understand why you keep insisting on hiding from everyone. I can't be your dirty little secret anymore; it hurts me too much." She cried.

"Baby, you aren't a dirty little secret, I love you, Em, you know I do." He grabbed her hands, but she pulled away.

"Then why all the secrecy, our friends don't know, our families don't know. God, Aaron, I can't even hang out with Jack before you freak out." She moved away shaking her head and wiping her eyes.

"Em, please…"

"I can't do this, Aaron. I can't be your dirty little secret anymore, either we tell everyone, or we end this." She said firmly.

"I don't like ultimatums, Emily."-Aaron said sadly.

"Then I guess we know what the answer is..." She said as she grabbed her coat.

"Emily, stop, wait...don't do this." He stopped in front of her.

"I can't, Aaron. I can't do this, I love you, but you will never admit our relationship to anyone, and I can't keep doing this."

"Please don't go, let's talk about this." Aaron begged.

"There is nothing to talk about, we have talked a hundred times, and we always come to the same conclusion, you won't tell anyone, and I can't do this to myself, so I'd rather end things now."

"Is that really what you want, do you want to break up?" Aaron asked, with a hard knot in his stomach.

"Yes, it is." A single tear slid down her cheek.

"Goodbye, Aaron." Emily walked out, leaving Aaron aghast with his mouth open with no words coming out.

"Emily, wait, stop, please." He finally begged from his apartment door, but the brunette kept walking firmly toward her car.


	2. Chapter 2

Fatherless

Chapter 2: I am Already Over You

It had been almost two months since the night Emily walked out on Aaron breaking up with him; two long months where Aaron had done nothing but think about her. He was dying inside, he had realized during these two months just how much he loved her, and how much he needed her, but he was too stupid and arrogant to talk to her. He was hurt, too, because after that night at his apartment, Emily had acted like he was a complete stranger to her, and that really got to him. He knew she was upset, but he thought it was a simple fight, and they would eventually talk and get back together.

However, Aaron forgot how stubborn Emily could be, and during that time, she acted like she wanted nothing to do with him. She rarely said a word to him that was not job related, and when she did, she was cold and short, she even started calling him "Sir" again, a very low blow in his opinion. He would never have thought she would behave like this toward him after everything they had been through.

Their relationship came at a very unexpected time, especially since he wasn't ready to start dating again. He had gotten divorced from Haley, and the ink wasn't even dry on the papers when he realized he had feelings for the brunette. The truth was when Emily first started at the BAU, he was going through a lot of problems not only with his marriage, but also with his life in general. He and Strauss had always hated each other, and he had a feeling she had placed Emily in the BAU to get rid of him, or to plot against him, so when she first started, he was mistrustful of her and he acted like an ass. But, she immediately proved herself to not only be a very reliable agent, but she excelled at her job even better than anyone on the team. When Strauss tried to set her up so she would pass information to her to get Hotch fired, she quit, proving to him once again that she was a person he could trust.

After that, they became very good friends. It was just exactly as he was starting the process of his divorce and he found out Haley was cheating on him that Emily became an emotional sounding board for him, and she stood by his side the entire time, she refused to let him fall apart. Somewhere along the way, he developed feelings for her, and how could he not. The woman was absolutely gorgeous, intelligent and sophisticated, and she was an incredibly amazing human being. She was like him in so many ways…she was driven, she was determined and ambitious in a good way, and he simply loved to spend time with her doing things he would never have thought he would like.

His divorce was granted a few months later, after he finally moved out of his ex-house and instead of being brokenhearted, he felt relief. Of course, his relationship with Haley had been over for many years; they were truly staying together for Jack. But literally a night after the divorce was granted, he and Emily were out at a bar having drinks and they were having so much fun that he kissed her, and he realized he felt something for her. He tried to push those feelings away, but he wasn't able to…so, a month-and-a-half after his divorce was finalized, he and Emily started a relationship.

They both agreed it was best to keep it a secret for a while because it was just better that way since he was her supervisor, and they could both get fired. But, before they knew it a year-and-a-half had passed by, and they found themselves still together and happy. The only glitch was Emily really felt like they should tell their friends and family by now, it wasn't like their relationship wasn't serious, in fact, they basically lived together. They were always at either her or his apartment, expect for the nights Aaron had Jack. But, other than that, they were always together, and they were truly happy.

So why not tell everyone…well, he couldn't even answer the question yet, he simply wasn't ready, and he didn't know why, he just wasn't. He loved Emily very much, that was a fact, but he just wanted to keep their relationship away from everyone, after all, everyone always knew everything about everyone. This was something that he kept to himself, his own little piece of heaven that no one knew about, and that was why he liked it, that no one knew…because it was clean and pure, and it was just his. But Emily, after a while got tired; she felt like he was trying to not tell anyone because he didn't love her, or he was ashamed of her, and that hurt her. How could she think that? I mean, didn't she realize how hypnotizingly beautiful she was? How much he admired her? How truly lucky he was that she had chosen him? Him! a man that was broken and had a failed marriage, a man everyone saw at work and believed to be an emotionless robot. But not Emily, she had seen him for who he really was and loved him unconditionally, how could he not love her back and feel proud to call her "his". At least until she broke up with him, and while he understood where she was coming from, it really hurt him that she had just ended things without even giving him a chance to explain. So, he decided to respect her decision and leave her alone; maybe she didn't really love him the way she said she did, so Aaron decided to step out of the way, maybe it was the best thing for both.

Emily was heartbroken, yes, but she wasn't going to let it show. That night, when she had walked out on Aaron, she had realized that if he couldn't accept their relationship now after a year-and-a-half, he never would, and she wasn't going to do that to herself. She loved Aaron probably more than she had ever loved anyone, but she respected herself enough to let anyone use her as a toy or a sexual object. After the breakup, she swore she would not let this bother her or stop her from continuing her life and dream. She knew she would get over him, and when she did, she would never again let anyone get close enough to hurt her.

The weeks passed by and she tried to focus her time on something else that wasn't Aaron. Of course, while at work it was difficult since she had to see him every day, and it was very painful for her, but when she wasn't at work she decided to focus on something else. She always like interior design, and she had been wanting to make some changes in her condo, so, for the last two months she been focusing on painting her living room and other rooms. She also changed some of the furniture and the decorations…she truly had wanted a change, and that was making her feel better, in fact, it was great therapy.

It was a Saturday morning when she was working on the last room, which was a guest room that she wanted to turn into a yoga or exercise room, when she was working on the pre-coat of paint, and she found herself running to the bathroom and emptying the contents of her stomach. Emily only had a coffee and bowl of fruit and yogurt for breakfast because she had been eating healthier and even exercising more, but she had been felling funky lately. Maybe it was that bug Garcia said was going around the office, a few people had called in sick with some kind of cold or flu virus…she thought she was fine, although she had actually been feeling sick for a while now, and Emily being Emily tried to suck it up and ignore the symptoms, but maybe it was time for her to make a visit to her doctor. Ugggggh, she hated doctors and she hated being sick, that was the reason why she never got sick, or she tried to never get sick. After she basically emptied her entire stomach, she decided to switch from coffee to hot tea, with the weather they had it just suited her better. The majority of the rest of that day was spent in bed cuddling with Sergio watching TV, she truly had no energy for anything and she wasn't sure why, maybe she just needed a good day of rest, and she would be like new the next morning. Unfortunately, things got worse the next day, Sunday, her nausea had gotten worse and not only did she had a major migraine, but she could hardly keep anything in her stomach, plus she was completely exhausted. She wasn't sure why because she had been in bed for an entire day, but she could hardly stand on her own. That was when she realized she needed to go to the doctor and get this bug taken care of.

Early Monday morning, she called in sick for work for the first time in years. She really needed to see a doctor, and she had a lot of vacation time, so she could use a day or maybe two of that as a sick day, depending on how bad her bug was. She walked into her doctor's office early that morning…she had not been there in a while, and she hated hospitals and the way they smelled. So with a huge pout, she sat in a chair waiting for her doctor to call her while she flipped through some Cosmo magazine.

"Miss Prentiss." Doctor Nancy Ankeny called softly. Emily smiled shortly, and made her way inside her doctor's office.

"Good morning, Emily, its been a while since I last saw you." Her doctor said pleasantly and smiled.

"Yeah, well, work has been crazy…bad guys don't care much about our health." Emily joked, and her doctor smiled.

"Right, but, if you don't take care of yourself, then who is going to get the bad guys."

"I guess you have a point." Emily said tiredly.

"What brought you here, Emily, just your annual checkup?" Dr. Ankeny asked.

"That, and I think I have some sort of bug, there is this flu thing going around in our office, and I think I got it from someone. I've just been feeling awful." Emily confessed.

"Okay, well, let's do your checkup, and then we can check on that. I'll run some tests on you, okay?" Emily nodded annoyed, maybe she shouldn't have come to the doctor. She should have gotten something at a drug store…this was stupid to begin with, and she really preferred to go home and get back into bed.

Almost an hour later, she was still at her doctor's office, and yet, they had not told her what was wrong with her…they had taken blood samples and urine samples and some other kinds of tests, and yet, she had no idea what was wrong with her. She was already in a lot of pain, and she was sure she had a fever, what the hell was her doctor doing writing a dissertation! Uggggg, she should have stayed home, this was so stupid. Emily was about to throw a pen to the other side of the room, when her doctor walked in again.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Emily, we just wanted to make sure everything was okay." Her doctor apologized and sat down in front of her.

"It's fine, so what is the matter, it's the bug isn't it?" Emily asked, a little ruder than she had intended to.

"Well, yes, you have a small cold virus...we can give you something mild for that, but there is something else you need to know."

"Something like what?"

"You are pregnant, Emily." Dr. Ankeny said, showing her the test results.


	3. Chapter 3

Fatherless

Chapter 3: Say Something

Almost an hour later, Emily was still at her doctor's office…they had taken blood samples and urine samples and some other kinds of tests, and still she had no idea what was wrong with her. She was in a lot of pain, and she was sure she had a fever, and she was thinking _what the hell was her doctor doing…writing a dissertation!_ Uggghh, she knew she should have stayed home, this was so stupid. Emily was about to throw a pen to the other side of the room when her doctor walked in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Emily, we just wanted to wait for the test results to make sure everything was okay." Her doctor apologized and sat down in front of her.

"That's fine, so what's the matter, it's the bug, isn't it?" Emily asked, a little ruder than she had intended to.

"Well yes, you have a small cold virus...we can give you something mild for that, but there is something else you need to know."

"Something like what?"

"You're pregnant, Emily." Dr. Ankeny said, showing her the test results. Emily stood there speechless in front of her doctor; she had no idea how to respond to what she had just heard.

"Is this good or bad news?" The doctor asked before she said anything else. But Emily took too long to answer.

"Emily?" Dr. Ankeny asked, a little louder.

"Um, I...they're, um...unexpected." Emily said, as her eyes filled with tears.

"All right, if you want to end the pregnancy, we're in a perfect time to do so." Dr. Ankeny explained.

"I don't want to end it, I want the baby, I just I wasn't expecting it." Emily said sadly. No, she definitely wasn't expecting to be pregnant by the man who had basically used her for eighteen months, but she was going to keep the baby no matter what, even if he didn't care about her.

"Alright, Emily, I'm going to perform some more tests, and I want to do your first ultrasound today, too, just to make sure everything is fine with your baby." Her doctor explained.

After what seemed forever, Emily was released from the doctor's office with a mild cold prescription, a sonogram in her hand and a broken heart. She was about seven weeks pregnant, and she couldn't understand how she missed her period, and she hadn't even noticed: maybe she was too busy trying to get Aaron out of her mind that she had never even thought of that…how could she had been so stupid and careless as to have gotten pregnant. She thought about all her possibilities and her options, and that was when she realized she had to be strong and keep this baby.

Her memories flashed back for a second to when she was fifteen; she was stupid, naïve and careless, and she had screwed up royally. Another reason why she made another mistake she would never forgive herself for…she had wound up having a miscarriage, and even today that mistake still chased her everywhere she went. The difference between now and then was that now she was self-sufficient, a mature woman, and she had the capability to take care of this baby even if she was alone. Maybe it would be much harder, but she was going to do it, no matter what. She drove home while tears ran freely down her face. She had no idea how she was going to tell Aaron, and Emily knew he deserved to know, even if he wanted nothing to do with her, or the baby. Even though she now felt she had been a dalliance for him all this time, he still deserved to know that she was pregnant with his child.

Emily took a few days off to clear her head, and when she finally came back to the BAU all her friends were worried about her. Of course, she stuck to the story that she had been fighting a really bad cold…she was eventually going to tell her friends about the baby, but for right now, she needed to tell him first. Her plans changed when Garcia openly announced Hotch had brought a date last night when the team had gone out for drinks and his date had showed up surprising everyone. Emily was totally surprised, she couldn't believe he had moved on so fast, she didn't even know he had met someone; from what the girls said, he had met this woman while running, and they had become friends. Emily had to sit there and listen and compose herself and keep her tears at bay. She wondered how long this woman had been dating him; she even wondered if Aaron had cheated on her while they were together. That day, Emily left home more devastated and sad than she had ever been; now she knew she had always been just a plaything for him, and it finally broke her heart into a million pieces because she still cared for him…she was still in love with him. She spent that night crying and devastated trying to decide whether to tell him about the baby. No matter how angry she was with him, and how much she hated him, in the end she knew she had to tell him.

A few nights later, she found herself knocking on his apartment door; she knew she couldn't tell him at work, so after several nights had passed she finally found the guts to go see him. She waited impatiently outside his apartment, not knowing how he was going to take the news, but she knew she was doing the right thing.

"Emily!" Aaron said in shock when he opened the door. She was the last person he expected to show up at his apartment. He had been working on some paperwork with his sleeves rolled up, and he wasn't wearing a suit jacket or a tie.

"I'm sorry to just barge in, I was wondering if I could talk to you." Emily said nervously.

"Umm, sure, come in." He opened the door moving away so she could come in. Emily quickly ran her eyes over the room, seeing the place that once felt so familiar, but now she felt like a complete stranger there. Maybe she shouldn't have come.

"Is everything okay?" Aaron asked nervously since he didn't know what else to say.

"Yes, there is something you need to know." The hard part was getting it out of her. She had rehearsed this for days, and now she was having trouble uttering a single word.

"Congratulations on your new girlfriend by the way." Emily said boldly, before she could stop herself.

Aaron smirked…he knew this was exactly what was going to happen…the girls were going to gossip about something that wasn't even true, all because Beth had shown up uninvited to the bar. And before he could say anything else, everyone was spreading rumors about it, and now, here in front of him was the woman he loved, looking at him with so much hatred.

"I'm not dating Beth; I don't know what you heard but..."

"I don't care who you date, Hotch, we aren't together anymore, so you can do whatever the hell you want with your life." Emily spat, and he just shook his head.

"It's not what you think, Emily."

"I don't care, I've already told you that, and I'm not here because of that. I'm here because there is something important you need to know." Emily said, taking a deep breath.

"What's going on?" He asked, trying to avoid an uncomfortable situation.

"I went to the doctor Monday because I haven't been feeling well. I thought it was the bug that's been going around." Emily was visibility nervous, and Aaron could sense her urgency.

"Is everything okay?" His concern was real.

"Yeah...I...look, Hotch, I'm sorry about this, and trust me that this is the last thing I ever thought would happen." He just looked at her worriedly.

"I'm pregnant." …before she could stop the words, they were out, and she watched as his facial expressions chanced from tense, to fear, then to shock.

"Wow!" Aaron said, after a very long time." You're...pregnant…with a baby?" He asked speechless? "With a baby? _What kind of question is that, idiot...of course, she's pregnant with a baby, what do you think she's pregnant with… a squirrel? Say something, stupid, say something._

Yeah, and don't worry, I'm not here because I want anything. I just thought you deserved to know." Emily said coldly.

"Emily."

"Don't, Aaron, don't worry, I don't need anything from you, in fact, I don't want anything from you. I'll be fine by myself, so you don't have to worry about what people will think because no one will know." Emily said, before he could say anything else. _Ouch that hurt_

"That's not what I meant, Emily."

"Look, you don't have to be worried, I'm telling you because it's the right thing to do, that's all, I don't want anything from you." Emily's face was solemn, and her voice was cold.

"Emily, I think we should talk..."

"There's nothing to talk about, Aaron, this was obviously a mistake, and I don't want to ruin your life with a child you don't want and a woman you don't love, so I'm doing you a favor and staying away from you." Aaron had never seen her so mad and hurt.

"I'm not dating Beth, and I don't know who told you that. I know you're angry, and you're not over what happened between us, and you're probably hurt because of what happened, but this isn't fair, Emily." He knew it was the wrong thing to say even before he finished speaking.

"Wow, wait a minute here, I don't give a damn who you date. Just so you know, I'm not hurt, Aaron, and I got over you the night I realized I was just toy, a plaything to you."

"Emily, please..."

"I don't need your pity, Aaron, I just thought you deserved to know. I'm fine, and I don't need anything from you." Emily said, walking toward the door.

"Neither does this baby; we'll be fine without you. I don't want you in my life, or the baby's life." And with that, Emily closed the door leaving him there completely stunned and aghast, as he stared at the closed door where she had just walked out.


	4. Chapter 4

Fatherless

Chapter 4: A New Reason to Live

A few months after Emily told Hotch she was pregnant with his child and wanted nothing from him, the brunette duo had not spoken a single word to each other. Aaron was not only mad about the fact that she had chosen to keep his child from him, but at her behavior and attitude toward him. She had not spoken to him since that night, and she avoided him at all cost at work. The only times she actually spoke a word to him were during the case briefings, and that was only relating to the case with five other people in the room, and she didn't look at him in the eyes.

He had tried a few times to pair himself with her on cases in the field to get an opportunity to talk to her in private, but the few times he had attempted that, she immediately suggested that it would be better if paired with Morgan or Reid, or even Rossi, since they were better schooled with that specific matter. No one had ever questioned his decisions, and it made him even angrier because she would not even pair with him on a case, even if that meant her losing her job for insubordination.

Hotch decided to leave her alone and stop attempting to talk to her. _She had been very clear when she said she wanted absolutely nothing from him, and if that was what she wanted, then he decided he would never bother her again. If his child grew up away from him, it wasn't going to be his fault, it was going to be hers…it was she who had decided he was not to be part of their baby's life. The parent that would have to explain to their child why he didn't have a dad was her…it was going to be her conscience, not his._

As for Emily, she was heartbroken and hurt with his actions; she felt used for his pleasure and convenience for the entire eighteen months they were together. She was devastated because she had believed Hotch was the man of her dreams, and she felt he had only played with her. He had not even attempted to talk with her to repair their relationship, even after finding out she was expecting his baby. _He didn't give a damn, another proof that he had just used her, and now he couldn't care less about her or the baby._ She spent endless nights crying over losing him, over what he had done to her, she couldn't believe he was capable of causing so much pain and hurt to someone he supposedly loved. But she vowed she would get over him and be strong now that she had another reason to smile and be happy.

Things changed even more when she went to her next doctor's appointment, and she got to hear her baby's heartbeat. Emily's entire world stopped, and all she could hear was that little fast heartbeat…her little gift, her angel, her little piece of heaven that had been sent to her to make her happy and make her smile again. She had always wanted a baby as far back as she could remember, that day her life changed. When she listened to her baby alive inside her, her eyes filled with tears; she couldn't believe how such a little thing that wasn't even born could give her so much joy and make her want to live again.

She was so happy after that, yes, heartbroken about Hotch's actions, but immensely happy, she was going to be a mother, she was finally going to have a little baby angel all to herself.

Of course, she would have to tell the team at some point, and she wanted them to be a part of her life, too, but she hadn't yet decided when that would be. Her plans where decided one morning when she was quietly working on paperwork and suddenly stood up from her desk, running to the bathroom and emptying the contents of her stomach. Up until that time, she had not experienced much nausea, or even drowsiness, during her first trimester, but there were certain things that made her sick, even if she hadn't had any problems before. She had a feeling this morning's sickness was caused by Reid's garlic pasta and bacon sandwich. Emily already hated the smell of bacon, and the sandwich sitting open-faced next to her desk wasn't really helping matters. She washed her face and hands and decided to make some tea to settle her stomach, and by the time she was back at her desk, the boys were looking at her with questioning eyes, and they had brought the girls along, worried that something really bad might have been going on with her.

"What?" Emily asked, aware of the four pairs of eyes that were now staring at her.

"Are you okay, princess?" Derek asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired." Emily replied dismissively, looking for her cup to go make some hot tea.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"What was what about?" Emily asked innocently.

"Come on, Emily, don't play games, you know what he's talking about. Are you sick? You definitely look sick." JJ asked, concerned about her friend.

"Um, no, I'm not sick."

"Then what's going on, my raven-haired beauty? You've been acting weird for a while, you seem really tired and stressed. We're just worried about you." Penelope added sweetly.

"Yeah, Em, we're your family, if you have a problem, we want to help you." Spencer said, with scared eyes.

Emily just stood there looking at all her friends…her family, touched by how much they cared and how concerned they were about her, and she couldn't help but feel guilty but happy at the same time. Happy to know how loved she was by such an amazing family, they were, after all, the closest thing she had to a family, yet feeling guilty because she had not meant to keep them out of this mess…she was just waiting for the right time, only she didn't really know when that right time would be, but now she felt it was time to bring them into her happy news.

"Thank you, guys, I'm fine, I'm just tired, and…" All her friends were looking at her, both concerned and scared.

"I'm pregnant." Emily finally said in a shaky voice.

"Oh my God! What!" JJ and Penelope shouted with a huge smile on their faces.

"Wow, princess…" Morgan said, speechless, but with a huge grin on his face.

"I'm going to be an uncle." Spencer said in a low voice. Emily finally smiled widely and said:

"Yes, Spence, you're going to be an uncle." And before Emily was aware of it, everyone was pulling her in for a hug and congratulating her.

"Oh my God, Em…congratulations! You should have told me earlier!" JJ screamed happily.

"Thank you, guys, I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier, but I just needed time to digest the news myself." She smiled to her friends.

Just as they were still pulling her in for hugs and congratulations, Hotch and Rossi walked into the bullpen; they had been at a meeting with Strauss for the past three hours, and the team was supposed to be concentrating on paperwork. They were immediately aware of the team gathered around Emily, and they stopped in front of them to see what all the commotion was about.

"What's with the party...weren't you supposed to be working on paperwork?" Dave asked, teasing the team.

"Come on, bossman, we're just having a little celebration here with the news." Penelope said about to burst with happiness.

"News?" Hotch asked, raising his eyebrows, and before Emily could stop her from talking, Penelope spoke happily...

"Our Em here is expecting a little baby...a little mini E!" She shouted.

"Oh my God, Emily, that's amazing, congratulations, bella." Dave said, pulling her to him for a hug, while she avoided Hotch's nervous glare.

"So, who's the lucky father?" Dave asked happily, putting an arm around her.

"Um, he's not in the picture, so it doesn't matter." Emily said nervously, simultaneously avoiding Dave's piecing look.

"Oh no, Em, please don't tell me I have to kick some son of a bitch's ass?" Derek said angrily.

"Derek, please, it's not important, and I really don't want to talk about that. It was my decision." Emily said firmly.

"Well, you know what, it doesn't matter who that asshole is because this baby will have so many uncles and aunts that will give him everything in life he needs or wants, baby girl." Derek added, smiling at her and pulling her for a hug, too.

Hotch just stood there angrily while everyone hugged and congratulated her, but it also hurt him so much because everyone got to enjoy this news and not him.

"Thank you, guys, but we should get back to work." Emily suggested, as she could feel Hotch still glaring at everyone, especially her.

Everyone got back to work, and in a matter of minutes, the bullpen was quiet again. Later that day, everyone decided to take Emily to dinner to celebrate the news, everyone but Aaron, that is…even Dave offered to pay the tab as a gift for Emily who was like a daughter to him, and the baby would technically be his grandson or granddaughter. The entire team was happy, they loved Emily and knew that despite the current identity of the father who wasn't going to be present in the baby's life, they would support her and be there for her and the baby the entire time.


	5. Chapter 5

Dear Readers

This message is to let you know that I am not giving up on the stories or stopping them; I am just taking a temporary break due to school finals and personal health problems. A soonest I feel better I will get back to the stories.

Happy holidays to all of you.

Fbiloveemandhotch


	6. Chapter 6

Fatherless

Chapter Five: You Own My Heart Now

Emily was nervously pacing around her apartment while waiting for Dave to pick her up; he had promised to take her to her doctor's appointment. Today, she was going to discover the sex of the baby, and she was quite excited about this. For the last couple of months, she had spent all of her energy focused on her pregnancy rather than thinking about Aaron and how hurt she was at what he had done to her. It was now almost five months since they had broken up, and he still had made no attempts to win her back, or to even talk to her…hell, he had not even uttered a word to her that was not work related. He knew the baby was his because she had told him, but he had literally acted like he didn't give a damn about her or the baby. Emily thought the truth was he never did care for her, she felt that she was always a game for him, and now that he was finished using her, he had moved on to Beth Clemons and started a relationship with her…not giving a damn about her feelings, or the fact that she was pregnant with his child, not that Emily really needed him at all but it still hurt a lot.

Everyone on the team had been beyond happy about her pregnancy, the girls were overjoyed, and they were already fighting over who got to spoil her unborn child the most. If it weren't because she didn't know the sex of the baby yet, they would have already filled her room and house with baby toys and clothing for the baby. Hell, Garcia was already calling the best schools in the state where her baby would be attending, and even talking about the baby's future acceptance to college.

Morgan and Reid were so happy, too, that they literally spent every minute feeding her and buying every single one of her cravings. Emily was sure at that point she was going to end up looking like a fat whale. But she has happy they were so involved with her and the baby. Dave spent every single minute following Emily around even in the field, making sure she was safe and out of danger. She felt truly blessed to have such amazing people in her and her baby's life. The only one that showed no interest in her or the baby was Aaron, even though he was the father, and that truly hurt Emily more than anything, but she had vowed to herself that she would not fall apart over him, she would do whatever it took to raise her baby right and give her life to her baby…that was all that mattered to her.

A few minutes later, Dave knocked on her door, which she opened happily pushing her thoughts away.

"Hello, Bella, are you ready?" Dave said and smiled at her happily.

"I am, let's go." Emily said cheerfully, trying to be happy for the news she was about to receive.

Dave drove to the doctor's appointment slower than anyone Emily had ever seen, which really irritated her because she was pregnant…not handicapped…but she would never make Dave understand that. Dave was a sweetheart and an amazing man, but he could be more stubborn than anyone she had ever seen. Finally, after a half hour, they arrived at the doctor's office, she was quite nervous and excited at the same time. This had been her dream for as long as she could remember…to be a mother, and now that she had the opportunity, she was happier than she had ever been.

A while later, she found herself lying on the table of her ob/gyn with and anxious look on her face and a robe covering her half upper body, Dave by her side, and they watched as Dr. Ankeny smiled as she searched through the monitor moving the scanner around Emily's womb. They heard the heartbeat immediately and a smile spread across her face.

"Emily, are you ready to find out the sex of your baby?" Dr. Ankeny asked cheerfully.

"Yes, I think so, she said nervously." …looking through the monitor.

Then, she pointed at the screen where the baby was moving inside her stomach.

"This right here between the baby's legs…it means you are having a baby boy."

And Emily saw it! It was super tiny…she could barely see, it but it was definitely a boy's little penis. A boy!...she was having a little baby boy just like his daddy. Then she stopped, his daddy didn't care and suddenly her eyes were filled with tears.

"Congratulations, Emily." Dr. Ankeny said, walking out of the room to give her time to process the news.

"A baby boy!...that is amazing, Em, congratulations!" Dave said, hugging her.

"Thank you, wow! I just don't know what to say!" She said, speechless at the news, and then Dave saw it…the tears that were threatening to fall from her big brown eyes.

"What is it, Em?" He asked, taking her hands gently.

"Nothing, I'm just happy…you know…I always wanted to be a mother…this is the happiest news ever." She lied.

"You miss the baby's father, don't you?" It was not a question.

"No, he doesn't care about me, or the baby, Dave, and I really don't need him. No matter what I'll have to do, I'll give my son the best in the world." She said, stroking her stomach softly and feeling her baby move around softly, making her smile.

"No you don't need him, you have all of us to be here, and this little boy will have the best of life…do you understand?" He asked gently. Emily nodded, and Dave squeezed her hand.

"Come on, I'll wait outside…get dressed…I'm taking you and my Godson for breakfast." He said happily.

"Okay, I'll be ready in a few minutes." After Dave walked out of the room, she let a few tears fall down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away. It truly hurt her so much…it should be Aaron here with her having these moments, he should be happy for her and their baby…she'd always dreamed of this moment. She dreamed many times about being his wife and being pregnant with his baby, but she'd always imagined Aaron by her side for every minute, every appointment. She never in her wildest dreams imagined Aaron breaking her heart making her go through her pregnancy alone. Emily quickly dressed and headed outside with her sonogram picture in her hand. _Screw Aaron! As far as she was concerned, he was dead to her, and now she had her new angel to worry about and to love for the rest of her life._

Later that night, Aaron was in his office going through the last files his team had submitted; he had been there for a very long time, but then again, he had spent every single minute he had off in his office trying to avoid everyone. He had been at his crankiest lately and had become so grumpy and moody for the past few months, but nobody knew what was up with the Unit Chief, they just knew he was snappier than he had ever been, and the more they could avoid him the better.

He was deep into reviewing the files when Dave walked in.

"You're still here, it's past seven." Dave said, crossing his arms.

"I have files to review and some other paperwork, and I lost track of time, and I still have a lot more to do." Aaron said with his eyes still on the files.

"So, you aren't going with the team?" Dave asked.

"Going where?" He asked, confused.

"We're going to that Italian restaurant to take Emily for dinner and just to hang out and forget about this job, plus we're kind of celebrating Emily's news." Dave said, trying to convince the Unit Chief.

"What are you talking about?" Aaron said, looking at him with tired eyes and an annoyed face.

"Emily is having a baby boy, so we're celebrating." That got Aaron's attention…he stood there astonished, looking at Dave; he couldn't believe five months had passed already since they had broken up, but mostly he couldn't believe she was having a baby boy. His son…his baby boy.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work, the guys are waiting for me, have a good night." Dave said, walking out of Aaron's office surprised at his indifference toward Emily's news, in fact, he had noticed that Aaron was the only one who had shown no interest in Emily or her pregnancy in all, he had done nothing but ignore her for a very long time. That was very suspicious, Dave thought to himself…something very weird was going on, and he decided he would find out what it was.

Aaron stood there in his office thinking about Emily and the baby. After a while, he finally decided to swallow his pride and have the guts to send her a text. Okay, maybe a text wasn't the best way to contact his ex-girlfriend about his baby, but he had to start somewhere.

 _Emily, hey, sorry to bother you. I just found out about the news. Wow, a boy?_

 _Listen, if you need anything, I'm here, no matter what. I was wondering if we can meet and talk about this, about the baby._

 _Aaron_

He sent the text, but Emily didn't respond to him. Aaron spent another few hours in the office waiting for a response from her, but he never got one. He finally gave up and went home…maybe he could try talking to her Monday in the office. It wasn't until after midnight that she finally responded to his text, and her response broke his heart.

 _Thanks for your offer, but I don't need anything from you. I thought I was very clear about that. As for us talking, there is nothing we have to talk about, at least, I have nothing to talk to you about. I don't need you, and this baby doesn't need you, and I would appreciate it if you leave us alone._

 _Emily_

Aaron read the last words and threw the phone angrily on the nightstand. Fine, if this was how she was going to be, fine…he would never bother her again. He would leave her alone and never bother her again; if that was really what she wanted…to keep his son away from him, fine, he didn't care anymore!


	7. Chapter 7

Fatherless

Chapter 7: A Not So Secret Paternity

"It's not supposed to go there, I'm telling you, I think you're doing it wrong." Emily said exasperated, sitting on the carpet in the nursery, or the soon to be nursery, or her ex-guest room.

"Relax, Em, I know what I'm doing, okay?" The dark-eyed man said, concentrating on the task in front of him.

"No, you don't, that doesn't even look like a crib, it's all messed up now!" Emily exclaimed, looking at all the pieces scattered around the carpet of her soon-to-be-baby-boy room.

"Listen, why don't you go lay down for a minute and take a break, or a nap, maybe you're just tired." David said, smiling at her as he attempted to build the dark cherry wood baby crib.

"Are you calling me old?" Emily arched her eyebrow, irritated at the man before her.

"Now, Bella, I would never! I'm saying my beautiful grandson might need a nap and his gorgeous mom could take one, too." Dave said, grinning at her.

"Nice try, I think I am actually hungry." She said, attempting to get up from the floor.

"That is a great idea...why don't you go make something to eat, I'm hungry, too, and that will be fun for you." David said, helping her off the floor and almost pushing her out of the room.

"I am not bored because I am four...I am bored because it has taken you all morning to build the crib, and you are not anyway near being done." Emily protested.

"I would have been done a long time ago if you had not attempted to help me; now go make something to eat, okay?" He pushed her gently out of the room.

"But, I want to…" He all but closed the door of the nursery leaving her no choice but to leave...grunting and mumbling.

"I swear to God, David Rossi, if you mess up my son's bed, I will kill you!" She shouted, but she didn't get an answer, so sighing, she walked toward the kitchen and decided to make a few sandwiches for them and drink some juice.

It was a rather sunny date outside, and she was somewhat uncomfortable with the heat and having a eight-month pregnant belly wasn't a huge help. She ate a sandwich and turned on the air conditioning, then sat on the couch knowing David would not let her back in the room. Emily grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels for a while. She stopped at one of those crime shows and watched for a few minutes before getting comfortable on the couch with her hand on her very round stomach feeling her baby move around now and then and sleep finally overtook her.

It was not until a few hours later that an arm gently woke her.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty." David said, sitting on the edge of the couch. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at him tiredly.

"What time is it.?" She asked, sitting up on the couch.

"It's just about past three, you've been out for about three hours." David said gently.

"Oh my God, why didn't you wake me up, I wanted to help you finish." She finally said, getting up from the couch and walking toward the nursery.

Her mouth dropped when she walked in...David had finished putting the crib, changing table, and rocking chair together. In fact, the entire nursery was ready. They had chosen a light green color with lions and other zoo animals. She had her baby shower a week ago, and basically the team had gotten her everything she would need for the next three years of the baby's life, and now, the nursery was all ready. She had turned her guest room into her baby nursery and now, it was all ready for her son's arrival. David had done an amazing job at setting up the room...right above the crib, the blue letters where hung over the crib with the name _"Nicholas"_ the name Emily and the team had chosen together. She brought her hand to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh…Dave...it's beautiful..." Emily cried.

"I'm glad you like it." He said, putting his arm around her shoulders gently.

"I think he will be so lucky to have such an amazing godfather and grandpa." Emily said, kissing his check.

"Thank you so much for everything." Emily said, wiping her eyes.

"You don't have to thank me, Bella, you know I love you like a daughter, and I love to see you happy. Now, what do you say we go out for dinner and get the last few details for Nicholas's room." David offered.

"I made some sandwiches, you know." She said, looking at him.

"Yeah, Bella, I'm not very sure cooking is your best talent, come on, dinner is on me. " Emily laughed, insulted at the man before her, but followed after him.

They headed to the mall and walked around for a little bit; of course, Emily loved shopping more than anything else in the world...I mean, what woman wouldn't. But, with a stomach the size of a massive basketball ball, it was a completely different story. She did, however, get a lot of outfits for her son and a lot of onesies. David also got him a stuffed lion that matched his room and a mobile for over his bed that matched the same pattern of the room decals they had chosen. After their shopping, they sat down to eat at a nice restaurant.

"When is your last week at work...you basically turned eight months this week...shouldn't you be on maternity leave already?" David asked, sipping on his scotch.

"I know, I just...I don't want to leave yet...I don't know what I'm going to do with myself home so long without working. I can't even imagine." Emily answered.

"You're going to take care of a newborn, that would give you plenty to do, trust me." David joked.

"I'm really looking forward to it, Dave, I've wanted to be a mom for as far back as I can remember...that was one of my biggest dreams...having a baby...and..." But, she stopped, although she didn't need to continue, David was sure what she was going to say.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked, looking at her intensely.

"Um, sure…" Emily asked nervously, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"He knows you're pregnant right, the father, has he attempted to make any contact with you at all? Does he even care about this baby?" David inquired. Emily exhaled, she trusted David, and they had talked about many things, but never about the identity of the baby's father. Emily usually avoided the topic whenever anyone mentioned the father issue to her.

"He does know, and…I don't know if he cares. I honestly don't want him in his life anyway." Emily responded, looking away.

David stared at her for a long time; he had some suspicions about her pregnancy and the possible father, but he wasn't sure; he had tried to talk to her about it, but she usually changed the subject and acted uncomfortable.

"I see, but I think you have to think about Nicholas's future, sweetie." Dave said tenderly, holding her hand.

"I am thinking about his future, I want the best for him, David, and his father couldn't even accept me, so I really doubt he would accept him. It doesn't really matter anymore." She said, looking away. David nodded, realizing he couldn't push the subject any longer. He, however, wanted to take another approach.

"May I ask you another question...one that has nothing to do with Nicholas at all." David said, taking a bite of his pasta.

"Shoot!" Emily smiled, picking up her glass of water to take a sip.

"Whatever happened between you and Aaron, you used to be great friends and talked a lot, now it's like you never spoke a word to each other again." Emily's glass fell from her hand, spilling water everywhere and making a loud thud.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry." Emily said, very nervously and uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" David got up, helping her clean herself off.

"Did I say something wrong? I was just talking about Hotch, you know. I know he can be a drill sergeant, but..." David teased.

"I'll be right back...I have to go clean up." Emily walked away, avoiding eye contact with Dave, leaving him aghast.

 _What the hell! What had he said wrong to make her that uncomfortable and upset? He was just curious about why her and Aaron had stopped talking. They used to be such great friends, and suddenly they had stopped talking over the past...what...eight months? Oh fuck...it hit him like a cold bucket of water dumped on his head. It made sense all of a sudden. He started to tighten those loose ends. Hotch was the only one that had showed no interest in being around her knowing that she was pregnant, when the team loved being around the new mommie. Could it be possible that Hotch was the father of Nicholas?_


	8. Chapter 8

Fatherless

Chapter 8: Fight Face

David Rossi was probably the best profiler that had ever existed in the history of the BAU and there was a reason to it. He was an expert at reading people and seeing through them, that was why it didn't take him long to read into things. He had a theory, and he was almost convinced that it was true: Aaron Hotchner was the father of Nicholas, the baby Emily was waiting for…the thing was, how could he prove his statement. He knew Emily wasn't going to talk to him, and he knew that she already avoided the subject and got extremely uncomfortable every time he mentioned the word "father" to her, and the last time he mentioned Aaron Hotchner to her, she spilled an entire glass of water on her lap, which led him to the conclusion that he was indeed Nicholas's father. Now, he just needed to prove he was right, and then of course, he needed to kick the shit out of Aaron for leaving Emily alone all this time. Of course, he had to act carefully to make sure he didn't affect any of the involved parties since Aaron was his best friend and Emily was like a daughter to him. He needed to make sure he was absolutely right before he did anything else. He was very good at profiling Aaron, and he knew he could see through him very well. He stepped into Aaron's office late one afternoon after everyone had left for home.

"Do you ever go home…or maybe I should ask if you even have a home to go to?" Dave teased, and Aaron smiled at his friend.

"You should know better than anyone all the responsibilities I have and Strauss already has me on the spot…I can't risk it."

"You know she isn't going to do anything, Aaron, Erin is all talk." Dave said, sitting in front of him.

"I wanted to give you this." Dave added, handing him a file.

"What is that?"

"Emily's maternity leave, this is her last week, so she wanted to make sure you got this." Dave said calmly. Aaron just stood there looking at him wondering if she really hated him that much that she had turned her maternity leave over to Dave?

"She gave it to you?" Aaron asked incredulously.

"You were in a meeting earlier, so she just figured it was better."

"Alright, I see, well, thank you." Aaron said, taking the file and putting it in his drawer without looking at it; Dave just analyzed his behavior, noting that Aaron was hurt, that was evident.

"You know, we're having dinner tomorrow night at a Mexican restaurant…it's kind of like the last night we have to hang out with Emily before she goes on maternity leave…you should come." Dave suggested.

"I don't think I'll be able to make it, I'm sorry."

"Why not?" Dave inquired.

"I have a thing with Jack, so I won't be able to make it." Aaron rushed to lie.

"What thing with Jack?" Dave asked, confused.

"A movie night thing, we had plans, and…I can't, I'm sorry." Dave knew he was completely lying.

"You know you've been quite busy lately, all the time, especially when it comes to going with Emily, or being there for her." His friend said, looking at him intensely.

"That is not true." Aaron defended.

"Really? You weren't at her baby shower, you haven't been there at all, period, to any of this. I know you two kind of distanced yourselves, but I wouldn't have expected this behavior toward her, especially not coming from you." Dave said. Aaron looked at him in shock and got very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked nervously.

"She used to be your best friend, Aaron. There was nothing you wouldn't drop for her, and now it's like you don't care at all."

"Dave, I have a lot of work to do…can we talk about this some other time?" Aaron asked, suddenly standing up from his desk and walking toward the filing cabinet pretending to be looking for something.

"You know she is already hurting, being alone and all…"

"What?" Aaron asked with a dry voice.

"Well, being a single mother must be pretty difficult especially when that bastard hasn't even contacted her about his son." Aaron didn't know how to respond to that, so he just nodded at David.

"I mean, what kind of coward does that, gets a woman pregnant and runs away from his responsibilities. It makes me so angry…no matter what the situation…you simply don't abandon your own blood…that is just bullshit!" With that, Aaron dropped all the files he had in his hand onto the floor, and Dave stood there looking at him, at how uncomfortable he had gotten and his reaction.

"Right, uh…listen, Dave, I have to go. I really need to finish these files." Aaron said, picking up his briefcase and rushing out of his office, leaving Dave and the scattered files on the floor in his office. Dave watched as his friend reached the elevators, his suspicions finally confirmed…Aaron Hotchner was indeed Nicholas's father, and he was beyond mad at his friend for abandoning Emily the way he had.

Over the next couple of days, it really took every single ounce of self-control Dave had not to go in his best friend's office and beat the shit out of him. He was so mad at him, he wanted to kill him, he couldn't believe he had left Emily alone all this time regardless of what had happened between them, Nicholas was still his baby, and he had to man up to that. Aaron wasn't stupid either, and he knew that Dave had discovered his secret, so he tried to spend every single second avoiding him and nowhere near him. It was getting annoying for both, and the few times they did see each other, they sent fire glares to each other; Dave was beyond mad at him for his treatment of Emily and for not caring about her. As for Aaron, he was mad at Dave for many reasons. He got that Dave was mad about his actions toward Emily, but it was her that asked him to stay away from the baby and her in the first place, and secondly, he was beyond pissed because he hated how close Dave had gotten to Emily and how much he cared about her. It bothered him so much, it seemed like Dave was all over her all the time, buying her food, getting her things, hell! she couldn't even take a step without him being by her side. Dave needed to keep his hands off Emily, or he really was going to lose his patience.

Emily's last day at the BAU was basically spent on paperwork and getting other documents up-to-date. After that, there wasn't really much she could do since she couldn't technically take any more cases, or files. The team had taken her for dinner a few nights before, and they were already making plans to come visit her every time they had time off. The girls especially, they were all ready for Nicholas's birth, and they couldn't wait to have the tiny little baby in their arms. Hotch had been in his office all day; he had been avoiding going out there, and he was in a very bad mood, since he had been on the phone with Strauss for several hours now. It was past seven when he finally decided it was time to go home.

Unfortunately, around that same time, Dave decided it was time to head home as well…he walked out of his office and spotted Emily sitting at her desk.

"What are you still doing here, Bella?" Dave asked, surprised.

"I just wanted to make sure everyone was ready for my replacement." Emily said, smiling at Dave.

"Emily, sweetie, you're giving birth in two weeks, let's get you home, okay? Come on, I'll give you a ride." Dave offered.

"What about my car?" Emily arched her eyebrows.

"You know you shouldn't even be driving this far into your pregnancy. I'll have your car taken to your place tomorrow; come on, let's get out of here." Dave said.

Unfortunately, all three agents approached the elevators at the same time, Emily had noticed the ice cold front between David and the Unit Chief during the last couple of days, but she had no idea what was going on. Right now, she just prayed the elevator rode as fast as possible, so she didn't have to be with him too long in the small room…she tried to remain calm and closed her eyes as the elevator doors closed, but when a sharp pain hit her stomach, she grimaced.

"Are you okay?" David asked, immediately worried.

"Yeah, I'm okay, he's just kicking, he's been getting so much stronger lately. I swear, I don't know where he gets all his energy from." Emily smiled.

"Em, may I?" Dave asked, with a huge grin.

"Of course." She said, and he placed his hand on her very rounded belly, feeling her son kick on the place where the agent had placed his hand.

"Damn, I think you might have a soccer player in there, Em." Dave said, smiling widely, feeling Aaron glaring at him furiously.

"Don't I know it."

"You know, Em, I really have to say this, you truly look absolutely beautiful pregnant, it really suits you."

"Thank you, Dave, although, I feel like a huge whale." In that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Aaron was so mad that he tried to get out in such a rush, he accidently pushed Emily causing her to fall. Thankfully, Dave caught her before she fell to the floor and avoided any real damage. He had done it unintentionally, and he had never wanted to hurt her, but he was so angry he was shaking mad at Dave for flirting with her like that, he totally lost it.

"I'm so sorry, Emily, I…" But, he wasn't able to finish before a fist landed in his face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, idiot, she's pregnant! Where the hell are your fucking manners!" Dave barked angrily, punching him in the face again.

"Oh my God, NO, Dave, stop!" Emily screamed, scared.

"What the hell is your problem?" Aaron asked, pushing him angrily against the elevator door.

"You want to know what my problem is, asshole, my problem is you are a fucking coward that has no balls!" Dave shouted furiously. Emily was crying hysterically, terrified at both agents wrestling.

"In that moment, the other elevator door opened again and like a prayer from heaven, Morgan came out with Reid and as soon as he saw both agents fighting, Morgan immediately tried to stop them.

"Whoa, whoa, what the hell is going on here?" Morgan asked, stepping in between both men. He had never seen both agents so furious at each other, and he was truly scared, what the hell had happened.

"You better grow some balls and owe up to your mistakes before you regret it, or before I kill you, because this, Aaron, is bullshit…you're a fucking coward!" Dave said, barking at his best friend.

"Rossi, enough man, what the fuck?"

"Dave, please stop, I'm begging you." Emily cried, terrified. Dave turned to look at her and then approached her.

"I'm so sorry, let's go home, Em." Dave said, pulling her into his arms. They finally walked into the parking lot, leaving everyone in shock.

"What the hell was that all about, man." Morgan asked Hotch, as he watched him straighten his suit; he didn't respond, he just angrily walked away from them.

Morgan and Reid just stood there in shock, what the hell had happened that made both of his bosses almost beat the hell out of each other?


	9. Chapter 9

Fatherless

Chapter 9: Fatherly Advice

Dave drove Emily home quietly; he knew she was upset and probably had all rights to be. He had started a scene at the office with Aaron, and while she didn't know what his legitimate reason to get into a fight with one of his best friends was, he knew her long enough to know she was not happy. Emily, on her side, had no idea what the hell had happened back at Quantico, but she knew it wasn't good and something was going on between the two friends; one thing that she was certain about was that she didn't want to be the reason why the lifelong friends stopped talking to each other. When they arrived back at Emily's condo, Dave helped her out of the car and with her messenger bag, then he walked her up to her apartment. Needless to say, he walked inside her unit with her where Emily dropped her bag on the couch and threw her keys in the bowl on the counter.

"Can I offer you coffee or anything?" She asked, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Look Em, I know you're wondering about what happened and you're probably upset." Dave started.

"Upset? I don't even know what the hell is going on with you two, I mean, you just started punching him out of the blue? You're damn right I'm upset!" She snarled.

"He pushed you, Emily." Dave defended.

"It was an accident, Dave, you had no right to act like that, are you out of your mind?" Emily finally raised her voice at him. Dave just shook his head.

"For God's sake, Emily, do you really think I'm that stupid and naïve?" He asked angrily.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned.

"He is Nicholas' father, do you think I wasn't ever going to find out?" With that, Emily's mouth dropped, she had no idea what to say, as she finally began to understand the reason for Dave's erratic behavior. She stood there looking at him dumfounded without knowing what to say; after a while, she finally sat down on her couch looking down at the carpet.

"It's not what you think, Dave."

"Oh, it's not? The asshole has not given a damn about you or the baby, whatsoever, all this time Emily. He watched you do it all alone, he watched as we complained about the existence of the father and not once did he have the fucking balls to man up and own up to what he did, what was his plan…abandon you and that child? He might be my best friend, but you are like a daughter to me! God help me, if he doesn't man up to this, I will kill him, Emily." Dave barked.

"Dave, just stop, please, he didn't abandon me. he didn't sit there and not give a damn." Emily finally said, trying to get him to calm down.

"Then, why the hell isn't he in this, why doesn't anyone know?"

"I asked him to stay away from me and the baby, it was my decision, he did try to own up to this, to be in Nicholas's life…it's me who doesn't want him in my son's life." It was now that Dave was looking at her dumfounded.

"Was it a one-night stand?"

"No."

"Did he cheat on you?"

"No."

"Then, did he hit you, or anything, because I swear to God, Emily." Dave asked, getting upset again.

"God…No, Dave, no, of course not, he wouldn't do that."

"Then, what the hell happened, Emily, why in the fuck is he not here?"

"Because I don't want him here, that's why, it was my choice, not his." Emily knew she had to explain more than just vague answers by the way he was staring at her, or he would, in fact, go back out there and chase Aaron to kill him.

"He was never really ready for me or this…he never wanted any of this…me or the baby, so I was doing him a favor by staying out of his way."

"That doesn't sound like him, I don't understand, Emily." Emily exhaled again and looked at her surrogate father.

"We were in a relationship for about year and a half, or at least I thought it was a relationship, to me it was. To him, it was all a game…he never really wanted me in his life, nor could he admit it anyone, not even his family, so I just got tired of being used and ended things with him." By the time she was finished, a tear was sliding down her cheeks.

"That is when you found out about Nicholas." It wasn't a question.

"I knew that if he was not ready to be with me nor did he want me in his life, he wouldn't want a baby either, so here we are."

"I just can't believe he would let you do this alone…even if you asked, it's just…I swear, Em, I want to beat the crap out of him."

"He did try on several occasions to reach out to me…to be involved in his life." Emily said, rubbing her belly; Dave just looked at her, waiting for more.

"I can't forgive him, not after how he used me, after how he made me fall, and I definitely won't let him treat my son the same way."

"Em, everyone makes mistakes, maybe he was just..."

"No Dave, I gave him time, I did…for the longest time, I wanted to tell everyone, all of you how happy he made me…how lucky I was to have him in my life…I wanted you guys to know, because deep inside I knew that even if we were breaking the fraternization rules, you guys would be happy for us."

"He didn't want to tell anyone, I can understand with him being the boss, Em."

"It wasn't just that, Dave…it was everything else. I felt like I was a dirty little secret for him all the time even in front of his family even after a year and half later. He still introduced me as his " _friend."_ Emily said, as her eyes filled with tears again, and he finally began to understand her pain and where she was coming from.

"You really fell for him, didn't you?" Dave asked, sitting next to her.

"It doesn't matter anymore, it's over and now...well, here we are. All I'm thankful for is my son, and that's it." Emily said, wiping her eyes.

"He's the father, too, Emily, and as mad and hurt as you are with him, and you have all the reasons to be, but he has a right to his son."

"Then he should have thought about that before he got involved with someone he didn't want to be." Emily replied angrily, standing up from the couch. Dave knew she was mad, and that she wasn't going to listen to any more reasons, at least not for now.

"Em..."

"Don't, okay, I'm not talking about him, and please don't mention his name to me ever again, if you still want to have a friendship with me." She snarled…Dave was about to protest, when she bent over, grabbing her stomach in pain.

"Oh God…" Emily cried, as she felt her pants getting went and liquid started rolling down her legs.

"What's going on, are you okay?" Dave asked, rushing down to her.

"No, I think my water just broke."

"But, you can't be going into labor yet, you're two weeks early." Dave said scared.

"I don't know, but I just wet my pants, and I'm sure it's not pee, unless it's blood, there could not be any other reason." Emily said, panic in her voice, and Dave knew he had to rush her to the nearest hospital 


	10. Chapter 10

Fatherless

Chapter 10:

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _Hello everyone again:_**

 ** _I am sooooo very sorry it has been such a long time since I have updated any of my stories. First, I had my graduation, and it was a hell of a ride with my finals then I had so much anxiety coming at the end of the semester that it was almost impossible for me to finish any of my stories and focus on graduating. Then, I went on a short vacation to Florida with my family, and I do have to tell you I had the awesome pleasure of meeting our amazing friend and editor, SouthunLady. Too often, online friends never get to meet, but we did and it was amazing for both of us. Without her, these stories would not be possible, and I cannot express how grateful I am for her friendship over the past two years. Meeting her has definitely been a blessing because I never imagined I would ever meet her in person, but I finally did in May...that was a little graduation present as well._**

 ** _Anyway, after that, I got very sick and it's been very difficult for me to focus enough to write, or even to focus on many things in my daily life...so, I do apologize to you, my faithful readers, for not posting sooner. I'm still feeling a little ill, so it may take me longer to post chapters, but I will try harder to finish these stories sooner, and I do appreciate your patience._**

 ** _Here we go again.._**

Chapter 10: More Than Just a Conversation.

"It hurts too much...do something..." Emily shouted at Dave while they rode the ambulance that was taking them to the hospital.

"Emily, you need to calm down...Bella...they're trying to do everything they can." Dave said, squeezing her hand gently.

"Her blood pressure is dropping." One of the paramedics said, as he tried to check her pulse and adjusted the IV bag he had placed on her hand.

"Okay, we're almost there, just keep her stable." The EMT driver responded.

"Please...please...I don't want to lose my baby." Emily cried, as another contraction hit her body.

"Ma'am, calm down, your baby is fine. We need you to relax...just breathe and relax." He said, placing the oxygen mask on Emily's face again, knowing the situation was not looking okay, and that they needed to rush her to surgery now.

"Emily, honey, try to calm down, please, I'm here with you." Dave said soothingly to her. He knew very well the doctors were worried about her, and hell, he was worried about her, too.

"I can't lose him, Dave, I just can't." She said, with tears pouring down her beautiful eyes..

"You're not going to, sweetie, I promise you...just calm down."

Meanwhile, Aaron was parking in the driveway of the two-story home of his parents; he killed the engine and got out of his car, knocking on the wood door. An older lady opened the door with a surprised look on her face, but immediately smiled at him.

"Oh my God! Aaron Honey." She said, pulling him into her arms for a hug.

"Hello mom." He said, walking into the house.

"This is a surprise! What are you doing here?" Natalie asked.

"Uh, I was just in the neighborhood, so I wanted to stop by and say hi." He quickly lied.

"Oh, honey, you should stay for dinner, your father will be so happy." His mother said, again pulling him in for another hug.

"That would be nice." Aaron responded, as he followed her into the kitchen.

"Michael, look what the wind blew in." She said playfully...a few minutes later the older man came into the kitchen.

"This sure is a surprise, Agent Hotchner." He pulled him in for a hug.

"I know, dad, sorry I've been busy, you know how the BAU keeps me busy." His father, however, didn't fail to notice the purple bruising on his eye.

"I suppose an unsub did that you?" He pointed out, laughing.

"Yeah, something like that." Aaron knew his mother had noticed the eye, too, but had chosen not to say anything about it, and it was something he really appreciated. He loved that about his mother, she really knew when he needed space and when to never bother him.

They had dinner together and talked; it was really nice for him, it had been a very long time since he had spent time with his family like that. Probably before the divorce from Haley, and it was so nice, it really got his mind away from everything and it was just what he needed. After dinner, his father offered him a beer, and they both headed for the garage while his mother took care of clearing the dishes. As they walked into the garage, Aaron smiled...it was exactly how he remembered it when he was a child. His father liked to work on wood, it was a hobby of his, so the garage was always covered in wood chips and tools of some sort and some piece of furniture that he was working on. Aaron took a seat on one of the chairs and his father handed him a beer.

"So, where is Sean?"

"God knows, New York somewhere, I don't really know...somewhere messing up his life." His father responded, picking up the sandpaper. Aaron just laughed shaking his head.

"So, why are you really here." His father asked, eyeing him.

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked

"Don't play stupid, Aaron, either you got in a fight, or you are running away from the cops, so, why are you here?" He asked again, more firmly.

So, I can't come and visit my parents?" Aaron asked, offended.

"On a Friday afternoon with a black eye? I really doubt it, did you got fired?" His father asked, softening his tone and sitting down next to him.

"No." Aaron said, looking down at the garage floor.

"Okay, so it's nothing I should be that worried about, you didn't killed anyone, so, let me guess...what is her name?" Aaron sighed, and finished all of his beer, looking at his father

"Emily."

"Emily? Wait, isn't Emily one of your agents? His father questioned and Aaron nodded.

"Oh boy, okay, I guess we're going to need more than just beer, let me get the bottle." His father reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a bottle of whisky and served two glasses

"So you...what happened between you and her?" His father asked after the third glass of whiskey.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"I am, but it's not that easy, she's my subordinate, and there are rule and regulations." He said sternly.

"Oh, bullshit." His father responded, sipping on his whisky.

"She's pregnant." Aaron said suddenly.

"What!?"

Aaron didn't respond, he just kept looking down at the garage floor.

"What are you going to do Aaron, you can't just walk out on her! I won't allow you to."

"I don't understand, if you love her, why is it a bad thing that she's pregnant...shouldn't you be happy?" His father asked, confused.

"Goddamit, Aaron, please don't tell me you did what I think you did, because I swear, if you did, I'll put another black eye on your face!" His father shouted angrily.

"I want to be with her dad, I have tried, but she won't allow me near her, she won't even speak to me." Aaron said, defeated.

"What happened, and how far along is she?

"She should be almost nine months now." Aaron replied.

"Jesus Christ, Aaron! Nine months! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Remember Sean's party?"' Aaron asked.

"You were with her that evening, I remember now...she came with you the party."

"Yeah, we kind of broke up that night, she wasn't pleased I introduced her as a friend."

"I wouldn't be happy either...how long had you two been seeing each other at that time?" His father asked, pouring more whisky into their glasses.

"About year-and-a-half back then." He responded sadly.

Good Lord, Aaron, a year-and-a-half and you couldn't even introduce the lady as your girlfriend...is something wrong with you?

"It wasn't that easy."

"So, you didn't love her then?"

I did, I still do, God help me, I do.

"Then, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I was scared, I guess. She and I started dating barely after my divorce with Haley, and I didn't want to get hurt again. I had trust issues, I wasn't sure I could love again and do it all over again, give myself again, trust some one again."

"So, you chose to hurt someone and run away from her, leaving her pregnant with your child. Way to go, Aaron. I can honestly say that I'm not particularly proud of you right now." His father said, speechless, looking at him incredulously.

"No, when she told me she was pregnant, I tried to be there; I have attempted to be there, It's her, she's the one that doesn't want me in her life, or the baby's life." Aaron said, looking down at the floor with his eyes full of tears.

"You really love her, don't you. I've never seen you like this, not even with Haley."

"I should have never let her walk away." He said, as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"It's not too late to fix it, you know."

"She doesn't want me there, Dad." He said, shaking his head.

"So what? You're just going to give up? For God's sake, Aaron, the woman is having your baby...WAKE UP!" His father screamed at him.

"Go there and beg her for forgiveness then kneel down until she gives it to you, no matter how long it takes...trust me...if she loves you, she will forgive you." His father said, and Aaron stood there looking at his father.

"You already let one marriage break down, don't let this happen with her, you're a

great man, Aaron. I'm sure you can fix this." His father said, putting his arm around Aaron's back in an encouraging way. Aaron just smiled.

"I don't know if she'll ever forgive me." Aaron responded truthfully.

"You'll never know until you try." His father responded, and they were interrupted by his phone ringing. It was Dave, he really was the last person he wanted to talk to after their fight at the BAU, but he knew this could be related to a case, so he had no choice but to answer.

"I have to get this." He told his father, standing up from the chair and walking away from the garage

"Hotchner."

"Aaron, I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to, but Emily was just admitted to George Washington Memorial; she is going into labor, and it's not looking good, you need to get here." Dave said, worried.

"I'm on way." Aaron said in a dry voice.

"Is everything okay? You have a case?" His father asked, worried.

No, it's Emily, it's the baby, she is going into labor, now; but it's two weeks earlier than she was supposed to and something is wrong." Aaron said in a dry, hoarse voice.

"Go! Keep us posted and good luck." His father said as he watched his son rush out the door.


	11. Chapter 11

Fatherless

Chapter 11: A Battle for Life

Aaron rushed through the emergency doors at George Washington Memorial only stopping for a second to flash his badge at the security guard who almost prevented him from going any further. By the time he made it to the maternity floor, he was out of breath, but he quickly spotted Dave outside pacing nervously up and down.

"What happened? Where is she? How is the baby?" He demanded, looking at Dave through piercing eyes. Dave was still furious with him, but he didn't expect anything but the exact reaction from him. He knew Aaron loved her, and he had watched him suffer over the last eight or nine months they had been apart. He just hadn't known Emily was the reason for his misery.

"Her water broke... and she is inside now...they are going to let us know a soonest they cant... they need to stabilize her first then we can go in.."-David said trying to make him calm down.

"No I need to go in right now...that is my son in there..."-he barked

"Really ? Then where the hell where you the past seven months while she was pregnant..."-David bit glaring at him

"Look David with all due respect and for the friendship we have stay out of it. What happen between me and her isn't any of your business and if I wasn't there is because she asked me not to...I have never once turn my back on her...and there hasn't been a single day that I haven't stop loving her...so pleas stay out of it"-He said almost shaking David just shake his head on agreement and walked towards the window still angry at him. He knew this wasn't not the moment to give his best friend his piece of mind, once everything was fine he will make sure Aaron will listen to him for what he had done to Emily whether he wanted to or not.

A few minutes later Dr Ankney came out, and by the look on her face they knew she had bad news both man approached her immediately.

"Relatives of Emily Prentiss.."-She called

"I am the father of baby..."-Aaron said immediately without thinking twice the doctor just nodded

"We have to perform emergency c-section on her right now...her blood pressure is dropping down, and the baby's heart beats are weakling down if we don't get him out he might not make it..."-when he finished the sentence Aaron felt like he had been stabbed. Both man exchanged nervous looks

"There is a waiver that needs to be signed..."-She said looking at them seriously

"A waiver ...? A waiver for that..."-Aaron asked arching his brows concerned

"Is a delicate procedure meaning the baby's life or her life is potentially at risk or both of them...but we have to do it a sonnets possible every minute is counting..."

Aaron nodded and followed the doctor to the room and after signing the waiver he followed her into the surgery room wearing scrubs, he stopped as he watched Emily laying on the table looking very pale and tired. She was connected to several machines, one of her hands by the IV. His heart broke into a million pieces, Emily turned to look at him and anger immediately took over her body although she was too tired, and to drugged by the medication to say anything.

"What are you doing here..."-She murmured almost in a whisper her voice felt so heavy and she could hardly speak but anger was evident on her eyes.

"He is my son Emily no matter how much you hate me he is mine too.."-He replied with tears on his eyes, and he watched as Emily's eyes finally filled with tears. She didn't even know if it was the fear of loosing the baby, of the hormones, of the fact that he was there but she turned her face the other way she just couldn't stand seeing him right now. She hated him more than anyone in this world.

In a matter of minutes the room filled with doctors and they started the surgery Aaron got close to her and grabbed her hand squeezing her gently and leaning down to press a kiss on her forehead and then on her temple, he knew she was as scared as him.

"I am so sorry baby for everything I put you thought for never admitting how much I love you and how much I need you... you mean the world to me Em...you always have and you always will."-Emily could feel his tears dampening her skin but right now all she could thing about was her baby and the fact that he was battling for his life, she closed her eyes as tears scape from her own eyes.

"Please forgive me for everything Emily...I love you so much...everything is going to be fine... I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.."-he vowed to her as he cried

He didn't know how long he was there crying and talking on her ear trying to get her mind away from what was going on the room, he knew Emily was awake and listening, although her eyes where closed. He could hear the little sobs that scape her mouth he knew half of it was from finally listening from him that he did loved her, that he always had, and that he was sorry for all the damage he had caused her.

The other part was fear of loosing their baby, she was terrified of loosing her beautiful baby boy, and all he could do was try to keep her calm and whispering things on her ear. Telling everything was going to be all right. Vowing her that he will make it up to her and the baby for not being there for them when they needed him. It wasn't until the doctors finally got the baby out that he turned his attention away from her terrified for the worse.

He saw the little bundle cover in blood and his heart stopped, something wasn't right he knew it right away, he had Emily's hand held tightly to him, but he had to let go of her for a second.

"Is he ...is he okay..?"-He whispered almost inaudibly but the doctors didn't respond he watched as they took his son away to the next table and examine him carefully.

"He is not crying..."-he said quietly, almost too quietly because he didn't want to scare Emily. He felt like his heart was about to give up and a second later the waling of crying pierced the room and Aaron smiled immediately seconds latter the nurse brought the baby over to him.

"Here you go daddy... congratulations"-she said placing Nicholas on his arms he smiled happy as he watched the beautiful infant on his arms still crying. A soonest he saw Aaron the wailing stop and turned into cooing and Aaron couldn't help but smile as tears cape his eyes. He was just perfect, he was the most beautiful and perfect baby he had ever seen in his life. He had thick black raven hair like Emily and her dark eyes and alabaster skin, but Aaron could see the small dimples on his tiny checks. He turned to Emily who was smiling at him but he could see she was almost out of it.

"Dr Ankney I can't stop the bleeding..."- One of the doctors that was working on Emily scream and everything from there turned to slow motion.

The monitors started beeping and he watched as Emily's eyes closed completely, one of the other nurses came and toke the baby form his arms.

"What is going on? ...what is going on with her?...sweetheart wake up baby.." –he said rushing over her shaking her hand gently.

"Emily...can you hear me? Emily wake up!.. She is not responding "-Doctor Ankney rushed over

"We are going to lose her...if the bleeding doesn't stop.."-The doctor working on Emily announced and the next thing Aaron knew he was being pushed out of the room, as Emily laid flat on the bed completely unconscious.

"Let go off me...I need to be in there...what the hell happened...? Some one tell me what the hell is going on.. with her "-Aaron scream angrily but all he could hear was the monitors beeping and a nurse screaming.

To seconds later Aaron heard a voice being paged on the hospital _"Red Code in maternity 302, Red Code in Maternity 302"_

About five doctors rushed in and disappeared trough the doors, Aaron stood there stoned and with tears on his eyes. David rushed to him a soonest he saw him there looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Aaron what the hell happened is the baby ok...?"- He asked fearing the worse

"The... baby is fine...they...took...him...they are...I think they are cleaning ...him.."-He said his voice shaking

"Emily?" How is Emily...?" Dave asked, as he watched Aaron's face.

Aaron, however, just dropped into the nearest chair, shaking his head unable to take it anymore.


	12. Chapter 12

Fatherless

Chapter 12: Everything for love

Aaron had been pacing around for the past two hours, he couldn't control himself any longer, someone needed to tell him something before he lost it. The doctors had disappeared inside the room, and no one had come to give him any updates about Emily's health yet. He was dying inside, if anything happened to Emily, he would never be able to forgive himself. She needed to know how much he loved her, she needed to know how important she was to him, she needed to hear that he had forgiven her before he could be at peace. He leaned down against the thick glass in the hospital baby viewing area, where his son lay sleeping in the bassinet. Aaron had been so scared to go in there...he had been so afraid that his son could sense that something had happened to his mother and everything was his fault, and then his son would blame him forever.

"I've been looking for you." Dave said, leaning against the glass as well, but Aaron didn't respond, he just didn't have the words

"He is so beautiful." Dave said, looking over the banister where the doctors had placed Prentiss on the baby tag. Aaron managed a weak smile and the nurse opened the door.

"There you are, daddy, just in time." She said as she opened the door for Dave and Aaron to walk in.

"He'll wake up any minute now." She said, rolling the bassinet to him just as the little baby boy woke emitting a little wail.

"It's okay, honey, your daddy is here." She picked Nicholas up softly and placed him in Aaron's arms softly.

"I'm...um...not sure...I can do this." Aaron stammered.

"You'll be just fine." She said, walking away, and Aaron just stared at the baby crying in his arms, he didn't know what to do, but he didn't want the baby to cry.

"Hey, love, it's okay, it's okay." He said in a gentle voice, rocking him around softly, and all of a sudden, the dark eyes focused on him, the same eyes of his mother, and Aaron smiled at him, as his son focused his eyes more intently on him as if trying to figure out who this big man was looking back at him.

"There you go, Dad, it wasn't that hard to accept your own son now, was it?" Dave said teasingly.

"He's just so perfect." Aaron said, as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Congratulations." Dave added, putting a hand on his back.

"Stay here with him, I'll go check on Emily for you." Dave said gently.

"Thanks, Dave."

"Okay, daddy, here it is." The nurse returned with a bottle of warm formula. "Let's see how it goes for his first feeding. You can sit over there." The nurse pointed to the small room where the rocking chair was.

"Thank you." Aaron headed there and grabbed the little blanket the nurse had handed him and placed it around Nicholas as he gently put the bottle near his tiny mouth; he was surprised to see the little baby eating eagerly and vigorously from the bottle, as his tiny little finger wrapped around Aaron's big finger, maintaining eye contact with him all the time.

"Everything is going to be fine, I promise you, mommy is going to be fine. And then, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you and her, I swear to you, my son." Aaron said, as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I love you so much, and I love your mommy even more, I always have, she is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me." Nicholas ran his tiny little hand over his face, and Aaron kissed his little fingers.

"I promise you that I will never ever leave you guys alone, I'm so sorry for everything." He cried softly, as silent tears rolled down his face. Nicholas kept his eyes on him all the time, like he could understand what his father was saying to him; he just kept staring into his father's eyes with those dark brown eyes that he had inherited from his beautiful mother. After a while, Nicholas finally fell asleep again after a diaper change. Aaron handed him back to the nurses and headed back to the maternity area where Emily was.

"Have you heard anything?" He asked Dave.

"The doctor will be out soon." Dave told Aaron with a worried face.

Twenty minutes later, Dr. Ankney came out with a worried face.

"Mr. Hotchner?"

"How is she?" Hotch asked him immediately.

"She's very weak; there were several complications during labor, we believe she suffered from postpartum hemorrhage." She explained.

"What is that?" Aaron questioned, confused.

"Postpartum hemorrhage is more bleeding than normal after the birth of a baby. About 1 in 100 to 5 in 100 women have postpartum hemorrhage. It's more likely with a caesarean birth. It most often occurs after the placenta is delivered, but it can also occur later." Dr. Ankeny explained gently to both men.

"But, how did this happen to her? How is she right now?"

"Right now, she's very weak, and she needs a lot of blood transfusions, and we don't know how she is going to respond. I don't know what caused this, Mr. Hotchner. Once a baby is delivered, the uterus normally contracts and pushes out the placenta. After the placenta is delivered, these contractions help put pressure on the bleeding vessels in the area where the placenta was attached. If the uterus does not contract strongly enough, these blood vessels bleed freely. This is the most common cause of postpartum hemorrhage. If small pieces of the placenta stay attached, bleeding is also likely." Dr. Ankney stated sadly.

"What can we do right now?" Dave asked, terrified.

"Right now, the best thing we can do is find a blood donor. Emily needs several blood units, since she lost a lot of blood; after that, we can only wait." She said sadly.

"I can give her blood." Aaron said immediately.

"We have to test you to see if you are compatible to her." Dr. Ankney said, looking at him.

"No, I am, I'm a universal donor. I'll give her all the blood she needs...I don't care how much, just save her, please." He begged.

"Great, you still have to take some tests, but if you're a universal donor, it will be amazing."

"I am, I'm registered as a universal donor." Aaron repeated firmly.

"Okay, follow me...this way." She said, leading Aaron inside the doors as Dave stood there worried, looking after his friend, knowing he loved Emily with all his heart and soul.

A few hours later, Aaron lay flat on the bed connected to the machine that slowly dripped blood out of his body into the bag that went directly into the woman laying next to him, still unconscious. Emily had an oxygen mask on her nose and a tube in her mouth, and it pained him greatly. He tried to reach her hand to hold it, but she was too far away; he just watched as her lungs slowly filled in and out. Aaron was going to make it up to her...he didn't know how, but he was going to make it up to her. He didn't care what he had to do, even if he had to spend the rest of his life making it up to her, he would do it.

Emily slowly woke up later, very confused...she was very dizzy and everything hurt...her mouth was dry and it felt raspy, and she tried to move, but she couldn't. She cleared her throat, but it hurt so much.

"Its okay, don't try to talk, I just removed the tube from your throat." Dr. Ankney said gently.

Emily finally slowly opened her eyes and everything became more clear; she was in a hospital bed. She still had the oxygen tube on her nose, and several machines attached to her, and suddenly, everything became more clear.

"My baby, where is my baby?" She asked, as she felt fresh tears rolling down her face, thinking the worst.

"Shhh, your baby is fine, don't worry, he's sleeping." Dr. Ankeny responded gently.

"What happened? Emily asked, a little less dizzy as everything became more clear.

"You had a very severe hemorrhage, we almost lost you out there, but everything worked out fine. You will be fine." She said, checking Emily's pulse and smiling at her.

"I want to see my baby." Emily said, as her eyes filled with tears again.

"He is right over there." Dr. Ankeny pointed toward the recliner where Aaron was sleeping peacefully with Nicholas asleep on his chest in a diaper and cuddled against him. Aaron had an IV in his hand and another one from which blood was dripping. She smiled for a second watching her son alive and happily snuggled against Aaron's chest.

"Why is he wearing that, what happened to him?" She asked confused.

"He's been donating blood to you, honey, you wouldn't have made it without him, you lost so much blood after giving birth, he basically saved your life by donating his blood. You're so lucky to have him as a husband, he has also watched after the baby every day since you have been here." Dr. Ankney replied, and smiled at her. Emily just lay there in shock without knowing what to say.

"I'll be back to check on you later, try to sleep some more. Nicholas is going to be up later, and I'm sure he's ready for some mommy time." She said as she smiled at Emily who just nodded at her.

"Welcome back, Emily."

"Thank you." Emily said, with tears in her eyes, and when the doctor walked out of the room, she turned to see Aaron again who was deeply sleeping with his arm protectively wrapped around Nicholas while his other hand held the IV and blood transfusion needle. She couldn't believe he had donated blood for her, and that he had been with the baby while she had been unconscious. Nicholas seemed very comfortable snuggled against his chest, and she just lay there looking at them while tears rolled down her cheeks.


	13. Chapter 13

Fatherless

Chapter 13: The Man I Once Loved

Emily woke up the next day less dizzy and more coherent of what was going on. She wasn't wearing the oxygen tube anymore, and she hadn't as many machines attached to her, just an IV and blood pressure monitor. She opened her eyes and the first thing that she saw was Aaron sitting across from her in the recliner with a sleeping Nicholas in his arms. Aaron was smiling at Nicholas, and it took a minute for him to realize she was awake.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Aaron asked, standing up and walking toward the bed.

"Okay, how many days was I out?" She asked, less groggily.

"Two." Aaron responded, looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"Two whole days?" She asked, in shock.

"God, Emily, you scared us so much. I thought I was going to lose you...I..." But, he stopped as his eyes filled with tears, and Emily just looked away from him.

"I want to hold him." Emily said, turning to look at Nicholas since she hadn't had a chance to hold her son since he was born.

"Of course, here, let me raise the bed a little." Aaron said, as he reached for the buttons on her bed and adjusted it a bit so she was comfortable, then he adjusted her pillows and placed Nicholas in her arms.

"He is so perfect and beautiful." Emily said, her eyes full of tears. "God, he looks so much like you."

"No, he doesn't, Em, he has your eyes, and your beautiful skin and hair." Aaron said. from the recliner.

Emily just smiled while tears rolled down her cheeks as she held her baby boy; she hadn't had a chance to be with him at all, so this was her first time, and she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down. She had never imagined Aaron would be here when Nicholas was born. She had just figured she would be a single mother for the rest of her life, but now, watching him with her and the baby, made her feel so emotional. She still loved him no matter what had happened between them. Just at that moment, the door opened and in walked Dr. Ankney.

"Great, Emily, you're up…how're you feeling?"

"I'm okay, thank you?"

"Any pain?

"No, I don't think so; I'm okay, right now." She smiled.

"I see that mom is happy and finally got some mommy time with Nicholas."

"Yes, he's just perfect." Emily said, her eyes sparkling again.

"Yes, he's a beautiful, healthy baby boy, you're both very lucky." Dr. Ankney turned to both Aaron and Emily and smiled, "Emily, I want you to try to breastfeed, okay? We've been giving Nicholas formula because of what happened with you, but I really want you to try to breastfeed, if you can, please, it's very important, and it's healthier for the baby!"

"Okay, I would love to do that." Emily smiled, looking at Nicholas.

"Do you want me or any of the nurses to help you the first time? Dr. Ankney asked.

"I can help her, Doctor, it's okay." Aaron said, and Emily's eyes snapped up to him.

"Aaron, I don't..."

"Okay, great, if you have any issues, call us, good luck. I'll come back later to check on you." And the doctor walked out before Emily could say anything else.

"Aaron, you don't have to do this, the nurses can help me." Emily said, looking at him.

"Yes, they can, but this my son." He replied, standing up again and smiling gently at her, as she just shook her head watching as Nicholas was waking up from his nap.

"Okay, let me get him so you can open your robe, and I will hand him back to you." Aaron offered, but Emily just looked at him for a second.

"Um...I…uh..." She was a little uncomfortable, and Aaron knew why.

"Look I've seen you before, completely naked; I'm sure seeing you breastfeed our child isn't going to be a big deal, okay." He said, laughing. Emily just gave him a dry look, but finally handed Nicholas to him as she opened her robe to attempt to breastfeed her son for the first time.

An hour later, Nicholas was up and eating out of his mother's breast. It had been hard the first couple times, but once Nicholas got the hang of it, he got attached to the nipple and stayed there eating vigorously. Emily was smiling widely, and Aaron was sitting close by in case she needed anything. She still couldn't move much because of the surgery, so as much as she hated to admit it, Aaron was a big help to have him there to hand her things and hold Nicholas and change his diaper. Once Nicholas was finished eating, it was Aaron who helped burp him, and then he was back in his mother's arms sleeping. Emily was smiling widely. The team was going to stop by tomorrow to see her and Nicholas…they were on a case in Nevada, and they wouldn't be back until the next case. JJ had texted her to let her know.

"How come you aren't with the team?" Emily asked, suddenly.

"I told you that I'm not going to leave you until you're okay, Emily, he's my son, too. I'm taking a couple of days off." He replied, for the third time.

"Aaron, don't bullshit me, you can't take that many days off…you're the unit chief, what's going on, tell me the truth." Emily asked again.

"I asked for a few weeks off, Emily, it's not a big deal, don't worry about it, okay." But, Emily just looked at him knowing he was lying; she was about to say something else to him, but one of the nurses came in, checking on Emily.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Nurse Bowman asked, she was a nice, elderly lady.

"A lot better thanks." Emily smiled.

"Great and you finally breastfed?"

"Yes, he nursed very well."

"Awesome, that's great." She said, as she checked Emily's IV bag. "Okay, honey, we need to get you a shower and to walk around a little." Nurse Bowman said.

"Oh great, I feel so gross."

"I know you'll feel better after the shower, sweetie, and I'll come back to help you with it."

"Wait! You'll be in the shower with me?" Emily arched her eyebrows.

"Well, of course, honey, you just had a baby and emergency surgery, you can't stand on your own, especially not inside the shower room."

"I can help her with her shower, Miss Bowman. I think she'll be more comfortable." Aaron said, smiling at Emily who just shook her head, glaring at him angrily.

"Oh yeah, your husband can help, too, great, so let me get some towels and new robes and I'll be right back."

"No, Aaron, hell no! You aren't getting in the shower with me!" Emily turned to Aaron with an angry face, while the baby slept peacefully in her arms.

"Okay, fine! But guess what, it's not going to be a fun shower, you just gave birth, so it's going to be messy in there and gross, and I don't think you want this poor old nurse to see all of that...plus, you're going to be naked. I, however, have seen your body naked many, many times." He said, grinning. Emily considered this for a second, he was right, she didn't want the nurse to be inside with her, she was probably going to be bleeding a lot and she probably smelled like crap; she turned to look at Aaron who had an innocent grin.

"I really hate you."

"So, I take that as a yes."

"Come get Nicholas before I change my mind." She said, irritated, and Aaron smiled, walking to her taking Nicholas from her arms and placing him in the bassinet next to her bed.

When the nurse returned to the room, she handed Aaron the towels and a new robe for Emily; he helped her get off the bed, and they detached the IV from her hand so she could take a shower. Aaron helped her walk into the bathroom, and he reached for the shower while Emily sat on the closed toilet, still glaring at him.

"Okay, the water is warm, it's not hot, it's just the way you like it." Emily smiled softly, touched that he remembered. He rolled up his sleeves and helped her inside the shower as she removed her robe. Aaron tried not to stare at her gorgeous body while she was inside the shower, but he could hardly contain himself. She was utterly beautiful. He helped her with the shower while she tried to steady herself with the handicap handle and tried not to slip.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes, I've just been in bed so long, I feel dizzy." She responded.

"Just hold onto me." He stepped closer into the shower.

"Aaron, are you crazy, you're getting soaked." Emily said, looking at his shirt became soaking wet, and so did the rest of his clothes.

"Its okay, I have my go bag in the car." He said, gently smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.

When he turned off the shower, he helped her dry off and get into the new robe, and suddenly, he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the bed.

"Aaron, you didn't have to do that, and you're soaking wet." Emily said, feeling bad.

"It's okay, it's just water, I'll be fine."

"Thank you, Aaron."

"Of course. I'm going to change downstairs, may I get you anything from the shop? I take it you didn't bring a brush or lotion...things like that? He questioned.

"That would actually be awesome." Emily said and smiled at him.

"Okay, I'll be right back. I hope he doesn't wake up."

"It's okay, go. I'll be fine." She smiled and watched as he left the room. She sat in the bed drying her hair. She couldn't believe everything that Aaron was doing for her and the baby.

Later that night, Emily was lying in bed again, she felt much better after the shower, and she had taken a short walk around the hall, plus Aaron had brought her deodorant, lotion and every other toiletry she needed, and she felt so refreshed. Nicholas had just nursed again, and now he was taking a nap in his mother's arms. But, she needed to pee really badly.

"Are you alright?" Aaron asked, sensing something was up.

"Yes, I just have to use the bathroom, but he just fell back to sleep." She said, looking at the baby.

"Here, let me get him." He gently took Nicholas from her and placed him in the bassinet and kissed his forehead, then turned to Emily and took her hand helping her off the bed and literally carried her into the bathroom.

"Aaron, I'm not handicapped. I can walk just fine." She said, when he placed her down by the toilet.

"Yes, I know you can, but you also just had a C-section and an emergency one, at that. and you walked a lot today, so that is enough for walking." He closed the bathroom door, and Emily rolled her eyes, but felt touched by his sweetness; when she was finished, he carried her back to the bed again, and she couldn't stop smiling.

"I'm ordering something for dinner so you can eat before you go to bed." He said gently.

"Ugghh, I hate hospital food!"

"I know, sweetheart, but you have to eat something; you're breastfeeding, and you need to get better, you lost a lot of blood. I can go out and get you something if you want, as long as Dr. Ankney is okay with it." He responded, looking at her.

"No, Aaron, you don't have to go out. I'll eat something from here." Emily said, looking at him, as he sat next to her on the bed looking at the menu, and she couldn't help but ask…it had been killing her all day.

"Why are you doing all this Aaron?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"You know what I mean." She responded, looking at him. "You don't have to be here, and you know it." She said, looking away for a second.

"Yes, I actually do, he's my son, and I love you, Emily. I know that you don't believe me, and I hurt you a lot, but I love you, more than I ever loved anyone in this world." His response was honest. Emily looked away from him, shaking her head as tears rolled down her eyes.

"Why are you doing this now, Aaron?" Why did it take you so long to finally admit that you loved me? She asked, finally facing him as tears were running freely down her face.

"Because I'm an idiot, and I was scared; I don't know, Emily, I'm not asking you to forgive me and forget everything. I know you'll never forgive me. I just want to be here for my son and you, right now." He told her and wiped her tears.

"Aaron, you have to go back to work eventually. I love the fact you're here, don't get me wrong. I'm so grateful for what you have done for me and Nicholas, but I don't want you to get in trouble at work." Emily told him, grabbing his hand.

"Emily, I'm not sure I'm coming back to work." He finally told her honestly.

"What? Why?" What are you talking about?" She asked, confused.

"I spoke to Strauss…she knows the baby's mine, and so does the team." Emily's mouth dropped open.

"Oh my God, Aaron, what? You told Strauss…why on Earth would you do that?"

"Because I love you, and I'm not going to hide it anymore, because I almost was an idiot who let you walk away, once for being too scared of admitting my feelings for you."

"But, you're going to get fired, Aaron, are you crazy?"

About you? I am, and I'm so sorry it took me so long to see how much you mean to me. I know it's too late now, and you will never forgive me, and it's not because it cost me my job and my friends, because, trust me, the team hates me, and you hate me, and everyone hates me, but I have to make it up to my son, Emily." Aaron said, with tears in his eyes, and by the time he was finished speaking, Emily also had tears in her eyes.

"Aaron, I don't hate you, and neither does the team. God, I can't believe you did this, I can't believe you told Strauss."

"I had to, Emily, I just had to." Emily nodded, looking away as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I do love you, Aaron, I'm not going to lie, but you hurt me a lot, and it's going to take a while for us to get to that place again." She finally said, looking at him.

"I know that." Aaron nodded, looking down.

"I do want you in his life and mine, but we have a lot to work on." Emily said, and he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry for everything, baby, please forgive me." He cried in her arms.

Emily didn't respond, she just held on to him as tears rolled down her own cheeks, unable to believe what he had done.


	14. Chapter 14

Fatherless

Chapter 14: Family Matters

The next day, Nicholas woke up a little cranky, and Emily was having a hard time getting him to stop crying; she had already nursed, so she knew he wasn't hungry. They had also changed his diaper, so it wasn't that either. Emily, of course, couldn't move around much, so she tried to sit up on the bed to rock him around trying to get him to calm down.

"Come on, my love, what's going on?" Emily said sweetly, cradling Nicholas against her chest, but it didn't help, it just made the infant cry more.

"Here, sweetheart, let me try." Aaron said, taking Nicholas gently from her and rocking him gently; the baby looked into his father's eyes making little baby noises, and in a few seconds, the wailing stopped and his little hand went into his mouth as his eyes stared at his father intently.

"There you go, my sweet boy, you just wanted to be with, daddy, huh?" Aaron asked, smiling widely, and Emily just frowned at him.

"How the hell do you manage to do that? He stops crying immediately when you hold him…every single time." She said angrily, but it ended up in a small smile to Emily's surprise when Aaron walked over to her bed and pressed a kiss on her lips, smiling at her.

"It's 'daddy magic', sweetheart." He winked at her, as he rocked Nicholas to sleep. Emily, however, just looked at him, speechless, as he had just kissed her.

Seeing the surprised look on her face, he quickly added, "Hey, may I talk to you about something?"

"Yes, sure, what is it.?" Emily answered, sitting up in the bed and stretching her feet.

"I know the team is coming over this morning, but I was wondering if sometime later, my parents could come to see Nicholas…if it's okay with you. They want to meet him, only if it's okay with you." He added quickly, watching her jaw drop.

"Aaron, he's your son too, of course, it's okay if they come. I'm just surprised they actually know, that's all." She replied, honestly.

"I actually was with them the day you um...went into labor, so they know, and they really want to meet him...and you, of course, well, they already know you, but you know what I mean." He blushed, and Emily just looked down.

"Aaron, I just..."

"No, Emily, this doesn't mean anything, you're the mother of my son and the woman I love, that's all. It doesn't mean you have forgiven me. I understand that perfectly well." He added, quickly.

"I wasn't going to say that, but they can, Aaron, that's fine, they're your parents, and they have the right to meet him." She said, looking at her son who was completely asleep in his arms now, and she couldn't stop smiling.

Around noon, the team arrived with gifts, balloons, and teddy bears and all kinds of fun gifts for Emily and the baby. By now, the news that Aaron was the father of the baby had spread around the entire office, but he didn't give a damn. When everyone walked in, it was a little uncomfortable because Aaron was there, but they tried to be happy for Emily and their baby.

"Oh my God, he is just so adorable look at him." JJ said, as she held the little bundle of joy in her arms in the recliner chair. Penelope was sitting next to her in the armchair

"I know, I can't wait to buy him all kinds of cute things and spoil him rotten." Penelope said, running her hand softly on Nicholas's hands as Emily watched from the bed, smiling.

"Oh honey, you've already bought him like a hundred things for the baby shower, that's enough for spoiling him." Emily laughed.

"Are you insane, we just got paid, lady. I have a credit card burning in my purse, just waiting to be used, and I call a baby store after we get out of here!" She cried, excited.

"Penny, please, I'm begging you, I already have hardly any room for the baby in the nursery." Emily pleaded, rolling her eyes.

"It's okay, we can just build another room for the clothes, can't we, JJ?" Penelope asked, smiling, watching the infant in her arms.

"They can't just build another room in there, she lives in a two-bedroom condo on the third floor." Spencer said from his chair. That's literately impossible."

"Please, don't start, genius boy." Penelope glared at him.

"You know, you could just move into a bigger place." Penelope continued her argument as Aaron and Dave watched them, amused, from their spots by door.

"Well, she might just do that, right princess? I mean, you're going to marry her, right Hotch? Or, are you still going to act like a coward about all of this?" Derek said, from his spot on the corner; he had been very quiet since he arrived, but he had been glaring at Aaron the whole time.

"Derek, please." Emily warned.

"What! Are we just supposed to act like nothing happened?" Suddenly, everyone got very tense.

"Derek, with all due respect, this doesn't concern you. This is between Emily and myself." Aaron said, walking further into the room and giving Derek one of his famous glares.

"It actually does concern me, man, she is my friend and for seven months, you just stood there pretending you didn't give a fuck, and now you just come here and play daddy and think it's all okay...that's fucking bullshit.!" Derek snarled.

"Morgan, back off." Emily said angrily; she had gotten off the bed, and she was now on her feet…Aaron rushed to her.

"Get back on the bed Emily!"

"No, I'm fine." She said as she turned to Morgan. "I know you care about me, and I really appreciate that, but Aaron's right, this is between us, and I love him. So, please, Derek, out of respect for me, please back off, let me resolve my problems with Aaron, please." Emily said in a serious voice.

"Okay, fine." Derek said, walking toward the window as Aaron helped her back on the bed.

"Care for a cup of coffee? Dave offered to Aaron.

"Sure, let's go." And they walked out, giving Emily more time to talk to the team, plus he was very close to kicking Morgan's ass.

Dave and Aaron made their way to the cafeteria and sat down with a cup of coffee. In a way, Aaron was thankful Dave had dragged him out of the room, but he was almost sure he had done it intentionally.

"You know, Aaron, I hope you know you're really lucky that after everything you did, she still ' _loves'_ you." Dave said, stirring his coffee.

"Dave, I know you don't believe me, but I LOVE Emily, I always have, and I always will." He responded, looking his friend directly in the eyes.

"I never said I didn't believe you, I just don't understand why in the hell you're an idiot that let the most amazing woman walk away from you, pregnant with your child, alone, when you knew you had feelings for her. What the fuck is wrong with you? Who does that, Aaron?"

"I know, Dave, I made a mistake, okay? I'll regret it for the rest of my life. It's not as easy as you think, and you won't understand, trust me, I know I fucked up. I'm here now, and I'll do whatever it takes me to make it up to her and the baby."

"I won't understand, Aaron, just try me?"

"I don't know, Dave, really, when Em and I started whatever it was that we started; we weren't really a 'thing', it was more like a 'friends with benefits' kind of thing. I had just gotten divorced from Haley and for a couple of months, when Emily and I got involved." He stopped for a second as David gave him a frown.

"Yeah, I don't I mean she is beautiful and amazing and soon I fell for her, and she did for me, but I was scared, and she wanted more, and I don't know…before we knew it, it was almost a year-and-a-half, and we were at this party and she got pissed because I introduced her as a friend to my parents. She broke up with me that night, and that was the end of it." Aaron explained to Dave.

"So, you never actually ended things with her?" Dave asked in shock; he had always had the impression it was Aaron who had broken up with Emily.

"No, it was her who ended things, I mean, she had all the rights, I understand after that many months dating, but I had just been divorced, and she was my subordinate, and there was so much to risk. I was just scared to admit to the world my real feelings for her." He confessed, looking at Dave, who just nodded, begging to understand Aaron's side of the story.

"A few months later, she told me she was pregnant, and she told me she wanted nothing from me at all. I tried being there, Dave, I swear I would have never walked away from my child…that I did try." He told David.

"I know you did, Emily told me that, it doesn't really help that you are both stubborn either." Dave teased.

"I'm not stubborn, she is." Aaron stated firmly.

"Right, that's why it took you seven months to...wait, scratch that…it took you three years to tell her you love her." Dave responded, looking at him, and Aaron smiled.

"I do love her, Dave, very much."

"I know that, Aaron." Dave said, finally running his hand over Aaron's arm.

When they returned into the room, the rest of the team had left, so Dave got to spend some time with Nicholas alone. Emily was lying on the bed, but she looked a little tired and uncomfortable.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Aaron asked, worried.

"Yes, I just have a little migraine, and I'm hungry, but I am so sick of hospital food." She said in a little whine, and Aaron smiled.

"Okay, let me talk to Dr. Ankney, and I'll be right back." He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her forehead and smiled at Dave.

He went to talk to Dr. Ankney to make sure she gave Emily something mild for migraines since she was breastfeeding and ask for permission to get her something to eat from outside. Dr. Ankney said it was okay, so he smiled and texted Dave to stay with Emily and the baby for a little so he could get Emily some food. Dave texted back with a smile, happy to see Emily happy.

A half hour later, Aaron returned to the room with a large bag; Emily was sitting up in the bed, Nicholas had fallen asleep and was in the bassinet, and her and Dave were talking.

"Hey, what took you so long?" She asked with a frown.

"Well, since Dr. Ankney said that you were cleared to eat other food, and there is a steak restaurant right across the street, I took the liberty to get you something other than hospital food." He responded, grinning.

"Oh my God, are you for real!?" Emily's face light up.

"Yes, asparagus and mashed potatoes, and I also got you chocolate cake. Now, I really didn't ask about dessert, but I'm sure you'll be fine that I went ahead with the decision to get it." He said with a big smile showing his deep dimples.

"I could kiss you right now, you're the best." Emily responded, smiling.

"You can if you want to, you know...kiss me." He joked, and Dave laughed making Emily blush.

"I might later after I eat, I am dying."

"I got some for everyone, so dig in." Aaron said, looking at Dave; they ate dinner with all talking, and they had a relaxed time. After dinner, Dave finally headed home. When Nicholas woke up from his nap, and his mother nursed him again, and then he stayed up for a little while making his parents laugh but then he was back to napping, like a normal newborn.

"Do you want to shower again, sweetie?" Aaron asked Emily.

"Actually, I do. It was so hot today I feel like I was dying. Do you mind helping me?" She asked, blushing lightly.

"Of course not, love, that's why I'm asking you; let me go get towels from the nurses." He said, gently pressing another kiss on her lips, but this time, Emily didn't react awkwardly, it felt more natural.

After Emily's shower, she felt more relaxed, dinner had been amazing and after the migraine pills, she was ready for a nap herself.

"What time are your parents coming tomorrow?" She asked Aaron.

"One, is that okay?" Aaron replied.

"Yes, that's fine?" She smiled. "JJ just brought me a very cute outfit for Nicholas, and I want to put him in it. I want him to look nice when they come." She said, as she brushed her hair."

"I'm sure they'll love him, no matter what is he's wearing." Aaron said, sitting on the bed next to her, helping her to lie down.

"Is your head better?"

"Yes, it's actually great. Thank you for everything, Aaron, the food, all of it." She looked into his eyes, and suddenly tears appeared.

"I love you, Aaron, I do, and I know things aren't going to get resolved from night to morning, but this man I have seen the last couple of days is the man I fell in love with, the man I want my son to see." A tear rolled down her face, and Aaron ran his thumb over it. It was Emily who leaned down and captured his mouth in a kiss; it was a short kiss, but it was a sweet kiss, a full of love one.

He smiled at her when they pulled apart.

"I love you with all my heart, and I will do what ever it takes to make this work...I promise you, Em." Aaron vowed.

"Don't make promises to me, do it for our baby."

"No, Emily, I love you, too; yes, I love our son immensely, but I also love YOU, and I need to make it up you first, okay?"

"Okay."

"Try to get some sleep, before he wakes up again." Aaron kissed her forehead and headed to switch of the lights and sit at the recliner chair as she dosed off to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Fatherless

 ** _A/N Okay my dear readers here is the update for this chapter._**

 ** _Again I will like to apologize again for the time it has taken me to update the story. But once again you know my health hasn't been too good so is been very tricky for me to update as often as I will like to._**

 ** _Secondly I will also like to apologize for no always responding your reviews I DO READ every single one of them but as I mention before with my health situation is some times very hard for me to keep my head in the game at all times._**

 ** _Third I finally decided to just do the stories on my own and I am BETA-LESS so this chapter is not EDITED I am very sorry for any grammatical errors you might find in the story._**

 ** _Guys I love writing I really really do, I am from Mexico and English isn't my first language and I had and editor but she isn't going to edit my stories any longer. And I don't want to stop writing and stop doing this fics. I will do my best to do this as easiest for you guys to understand I promise you guys that._**

 ** _If you know of anyone that is interested on being a BETA or editing stories for me let me know or email me._**

 ** _Thanks for the love and support._**

 ** _This story is almost coming to and end..._**

 ** _Thank you guys for making me keep writing_**

Chapter 15: The Third Hotchner

Both parents were laughing, as the newborn baby was wide-awake making baby sounds, and ready to meet his grandparents in the sailor suit given to him by his aunty JJ. He look simply adorable and the fact that he had the unmistakable Hotchner dimples was a given, Aaron father had them too. Emily was finally walking a little bit more and she was happy to bed off the bed for longer periods of time. She was also a little nervous to meet Aaron's parents as well, she had of course seen them before, but today she was going to officially meet them as her in laws.

"He looks so adorable..."-Emily said rocking Nicholas in her arms

"You know I have to say I do love that outfit..., but I think the fact that he takes after his mother beauty is the reason why he is so adorable"-Aaron smiled in agreement

Emily just grinned at him sitting on the recliner chair to calm her nerves

"I think daddy is a sweet talker! What do you say love?"-Nicholas look into her mothers eyes and gave her a sound on response making her smile

"Yeah I think so too..."-She nodded

Aaron laughed and continued his job cleaning around the hospital room, just a few minutes later they heard the knock on door, and Emily tensed up little up. Aaron headed to the door to open. A few minutes later Natalie and Michael Hotchner walked in holding a huge flower bouquet, balloons and huge baby gift bag.

"Hello guys come in..."-Aaron greeted smiling at them.

"Hello honey congratulations..."-Natalie said pulling her son to her for a hug

"Thanks mom...thanks for coming...is so nice to have you here"

"Of course I wouldn't miss this for the world..."

"I am happy for you son..."-Michael said as he also hugged Aaron. Then they turned their attention to Emily who was still on the recliner chair with Nicholas.

"Oh honey is so nice to see you again..."-Natalie said walking towards her

"Hello Miss Hotchner..."-Emily smiled but Natalie gave her a gentle hug since Emily was holding Nicholas

"Oh my god look at him...he is so perfect and beautiful ..."-Natalie said her eyes filling with tears and Emily couldn't help herself but smile.

"Do you want to hold him...?"-She offered

"I will love to...do you mind?"

"Of course not, he is your grandson..."-she gently place Nicholas on her arms and they switched places on the recliner chair

Then Michael stepped forward and pulled Emily into his arms

"Emily is so nice to see you again...and congratulations..."-

"Thank you Mr. Hotchner..."

"Please just call me Michael"-he smiled at her handing her the flower bouquet

"Oh you guys didn't have to get anything..."

"You are kidding right...? This is our grandson and you are our family now...but should be back to bed"-Michael said smiled at her.

"He is right sweetheart...lets get you back to bed..."-Aaron said gently walking towards her and helping her get back into the bed

Aaron grabbed the flowers and placed them on the tableside and he gently pressed a kiss on Emily's lips to ease the tension from her smiling lightly at her. She shyly smiled at him and she their eyes turned back to his parents. Michael was now siting at the arm of the recliner chair next to his wife looking at the baby, both of them were smiling widely.

"He looks just like Aaron when he was a baby..."-Natalie said as she held Nicholas on her arms.

"Do you have any pictures of Aaron when he was a baby...?"-Emily asked intrigued

"As a matter of fact I do, I brought you one. I had just was looking trough the pictures of Sean and Aaron when they were babies the other day. And I found one of Aaron when he was a baby, I figured you would love to have it..."-Natalie smiled

"Oh my god really...? "-Emily turned to look at Aaron with a wicked smile

"Mom please don't do that..."-Aaron begged horrified

"Oh come on honey you were an adorable baby... Michael dear give Emily the picture is on my purse.."-Natalie instructed

"Mom please..."-Aaron begged again but Emily swat at his arm playfully

"Come on I want to see the picture..."-Emily grinned at Aaron

Michael reached for his wife purse and fished for the picture Natalie was talking about. He walked towards Emily and handed her the old photograph. Emily observed the black and white picture and she wasn't able to control the wide smile that appeared on her face. The little chubby baby with dark hair and dimples wearing just diaper was sitting on the kitchen table.

"Oh my god... this too freaking cute..."-Emily gasped smiling

"I was too fat..."-Aaron growled annoyed

"You were a baby Aaron you weren't fat..."-his mother said rolling her eyes

"I am going to frame this..."-Emily said unable to contain her laugher as Aaron tried to stanch the picture away from her, but she quickly move away from his reach..

"I was fat and I am naked..."-He said irritated.

"I love this picture is so adorable..."-Emily said looking at him, Aaron hadn't seen that spark on her eyes in a very long time and he couldn't help to smile back at the brunette.

"Don't you think that he looks like Nicholas when he was little Emily...?"-Natalie asked

"Yeah you what? I actually think he does..."-Emily said as her eyes went back into the picture, they did look similar, they had the same frown, and the same chin.

"Only Nicholas is like ten pounds less..."-His dad teased and everyone including Emily burst out laughing

"Okay you know what? Give me the picture..."-Aaron said annoyed rolling his eyes at Emily.

"No, no, come one we are kidding you were beautiful..."-She said smiling and hiding the picture behind the pillows on her bed to stop Aaron from trying to take the picture from her.

"How are you feeling Emily... I know your surgery was a little dangerous"-Michael asked as Natalie placed Nicholas in his arms and she walked toward the bathroom.

"I am okay...now, I wasn't able to move much at first, but I am so much better now, but is been such a blessing to have Aaron here with me..."-She smiled looking at the dark haired man.

"Good I am glad things are okay, do you have anyone to help you home once they release you?"- Michael asked concerned

"Well, not really we haven't really discussed that yet..."-Emily responded honestly

"I am going to help her dad...I am taking some time off from work temporarily...I will be staying with her and helping her..."-Aaron responded without hesitation

"Natalie can help you guys too if you need to Aaron, if you need to go back to work, or you need a baby sitter... we will love to help with this beautiful boy"-Michael said with a huge smile

"Thank you we really appreciate it dad..."-Aaron

"Yes thank you...it means a lot..."-Emily nodded

"Dad...you know everything that happen with Emily..."-Aaron said all of the sudden and Emily turned to look at him in shock

"Aaron wait..."- Emily tried to stop him just as Natalie was walking out of the bathroom

"No sweetheart it's okay..."

"Yes I know, we both know"-Michael said, Natalie just sat at the arm of the recliner chair smiling and listening to her son

"We are working things out right now, but I love Emily more than I ever love anyone and I want to marry her and be with her the rest of my life of course... we just need to take our time and do things her way after everything that happened.."- Aaron said looking at his parents

"Aaron you know that we support you guys in anything you decided...we are here for you both and well Nicholas too..."-Natalie said smiling at his son proudly. Emily however looked at him with glassy eyes and he leaned to give her a gentle kiss on the lips

Natalie and Michael stay over all afternoon with them laughing and enjoying their new grandson. They were delighted with the third Hotchner and the beautiful brunette. Emily was surprised how nice and loving Aaron's parents were being towards her, like if she was already a part of their family. They have also brought a lot of gifts for Nicholas and Emily was so grateful for it, she was very scared about their reaction first. She thought they were going to act different with her and the baby given the circumstances of the current status of their relationship. But to her surprised they were amazing and so loving with her and the baby. When they finally left Natalie begged Emily endlessly to let her come help with Nicholas once she was out of the hospital and to let her her babysit whenever she needed, and that she was now her mother too for whatever she needed. Michael too assured her that whatever she need to give her a call and if Aaron gave her any more trouble to make sure he let her know.

"Your parents are so amazing"-Emily said with a small smile as she nursed Nicholas at the end of the night

"Yeah they are pretty good people and they really loved you and Nicholas..."-he said leaning forward to press a kiss on his son's forehead making her smile.

"Em I meant everything I said you know...I want us to be a family...I want us be together one day married and all..."-he said looking at her dark brown eyes

"I know you do...I want that too Aaron...we just have work on trusting on each other again..."-She responded sincerely

"I know baby, I love you with all my heart..."-He said looking at her and Emily saw the truth on his eyes

"I love you too..."- he leaned down to kiss her, this time more deeply the kiss lingered for a few minutes until she felt him reach him for the pillows. Her smile vanished immediately as she knew exactly what he was doing

"Aaron!"

"What is it sweetheart...?"-He said with an innocent smile his hand behind his back

"Give me the picture..."-she ordered her brows raised

"Baby please..."-he begged

"Aaron..."-She warned again and he watched him pout finally giving in handing her back the picture with a sad smile.

"But I was fat Em, like huge fat..."-he said sadly

"You were a baby is so adorable..."-Emily said placing the picture on the side table next to her flower bouquet

"I was still fat..."

"Oh honey I will have never ever imagined you were a chubby baby..."-She finally said smiling at him

"This isn't funny..."-he said offended but she leaned down capturing his lips in a kiss

"Its okay I still love you fat or not..."-

"Em!"-He growled as the brunette burst out laughing

 ** _Please leave a review and again I APOLOGISE for any grammatical error since I am BETA-LESS_**


	16. Chapter 16

Fatherless

Chapter 16: In the Safety of Your Arms Again

It had been two months since Emily had been released from the hospital where she had given birth to her beautiful baby boy. She hadn't returned to duty at the BAU yet; she had been staying with Nicholas mainly because she had emergency surgery that put her life at risk, and Aaron had refused to let her return to work right away. She had actually enjoyed every minute of her first couple of months being a mother, Nicholas being simply the best gift she could have ever received. He was the most amazing thing that could have happened to her.

Things were going simply wonderfully…Aaron had been staying with her since she had been released from the hospital to help her the baby. Aaron's mother had also come to help with Nicholas a lot of times over the past few months. Not that it was really necessary, Nicholas was such a calm and good baby, except she had taken him that morning to get his shots, and he was very fussy so Emily was in the nursery trying to calm the crying two month old.

"Come on, Sweetie." She begged, rocking him and walking around the nursery.

But, Nicholas didn't seem to want to calm down, the wailing didn't stop, and Emily was exhausted. She had gotten little to no sleep for the past few days. The house was a mess, and all she wanted to do was put the infant to sleep so she could clean the house. She heard the door of the apartment opening and closing, and she knew Aaron was home.

"Hey, love, I'm home." He called, when he heard the little wailing coming from the nursery. Emily switched Nicholas, who was still crying, into another position on her chest trying to see if changing positions would make him stop.

"Hey." She said softly, when Aaron stepped into the nursery.

"Hey, my little man." Aaron said and kissed the crying infant. "Why are you crying?" Aaron asked, with a big smile.

"He got his shots this morning, and I think he's just fussy; I don't know…I can't get him to stop crying, the house is a mess, and I wanted to make dinner for you." Emily said, tiredly and exasperated.

"It's okay, honey, here, let me get him." He said softly, taking the crying baby from her arms.

"It's not going to work, he's been crying for the past three hours nonstop." Emily said tiredly, but Aaron walked over to the changing table and undressed Nicholas from the baby clothes his mother had changed him into leaving him in nothing but a diaper. Then he picked him up, rocking him again and in a few minutes, the wailing stopped.

"How did you do that?" Emily asked in shock.

"When Jack used to get shots he got very hot, and the doctor used to tell us to let him stay in just a diaper. Sometimes, they get overly hot and uncomfortable." He smiled at her, kissing her lips, then he noticed the black circles under her eyes.

Although he had been working on a very hard case for the past week, he knew it wasn't the same as having a newborn baby in the house. Emily had been taking care of their child by herself for the past week since he had been gone all week.

"Why don't you go lie down for a little while and take a nap, I'll take care of him."

"No, the place is a mess. I want to clean around, and I need to shower." Emily said tiredly.

"Okay, go shower, then take a nap; I'll take it from here, sweetheart." He said gently, kissing her again.

"You just got home from work."

"I'm pretty sure taking care of our two-month-old son is more exhausting than chasing after a serial killer. Go on, lie down for a little bit." He smiled at her, Emily just nodded; she really needed a nap, she was truly tired.

"Okay, thank you, honey." She placed a kiss on his lips and walked out of the nursery going into her bedroom, or the bedroom they had been sharing for the past two months.

She quickly got undressed and jumped in the shower. Emily didn't really think she could take a nap, but she needed a shower. She was so grateful that Aaron was home. She stood in the shower for a while letting the hot water run through her body, and when she finally came out, she wrapped herself in her bathrobe. Nicholas wasn't crying anymore, and there wasn't any noise coming from the baby monitor, which probably meant he was sleeping now, something she was happy for. She sat on her bed stretching a little…she had never been so tired in her entire life. She lay back on the pillows closing her eyes for a few seconds, she knew she couldn't really fall sleep, but she just needed to close her eyes.

A few hours later, she woke up. She couldn't believe she had fallen asleep in her robe, she sat up on the bed and quickly realized she had been out for at least two hours. She quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a shirt, and she made her way out of the bedroom. When she came out, she was speechless! Aaron had cleaned the entire apartment, and now, he was by the stove cooking something.

"Oh my God, everything is spotless! You cleaned everything!" Emily said, walking toward the stove.

"Hey there, how was your nap?" He smiled at her, his dimples deeply showing.

"You didn't have to do all of this, you know." Emily said, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him.

"Yes I did, I live here, too, and he's my son; you do enough by taking care of him every day." Aaron said, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. They stood there kissing for a while until the kiss turned very heated.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, baby." Aaron responded. 

"Is Nicholas sleeping?" She asked, watching him work on the beef stew.

"Yeah, he has been since about an hour ago."

"Thank you, honey, for all of this."

"Of course, sweetie, anything for you." He kissed her once again, and then he served them dinner.

Nicholas only woke up once to be nursed, but he went back to sleep right away. Emily and Aaron together put their son back to sleep, and then they made their way to the bedroom.

Aaron jumped in the shower, and Emily waited for him inside the covers; she was so grateful for the last couple of months and for everything he had done for her and Nicholas…he had been so amazing and loving toward her and the baby. They had really not been intimate, mainly because Emily had just given birth and secondly, because she didn't really trust him yet. She loved him…yes, but she was still a little hurt inside, she wanted everything to work with them and their relationship to be fine again.

When Aaron came out of the shower, Emily was in bed wearing shorts and a cotton t- shirt, she smiled at him and he made his way to bed wearing only boxers. He hopped inside the covers and snuggled close to Emily pulling her close.

"I have a feeling Nick is going to sleep all night." Emily said, as she rested on his chest.

"Yeah, me too; he's getting more used to the night schedule."

"I'm so glad you're home, I missed you so much."

"I miss you, too, sweetheart." He turned to kiss her lips gently, and Emily returned the kiss lazily.

The kiss soon turned passionate, and Emily switched under him; he continued kissing her until her hand moved underneath his shirt, and she slowly removed his shirt.

"Are you sure, baby?" He asked, looking at her with an unsure look.

"I am, I love you, Aaron, I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you, too, Em, but I don't want to rush things, and are you sure it's safe for us to be together after your surgery?" Emily laughed.

"Aaron, it's been two months…I'm fine, we can make love."

Aaron laughed as he gingerly captured her lips as his hands moved under her top. He really had missed her so much; they hadn't made love since they had broken up over a year ago, and they were basically dying to be with each other.

Emily moaned against his mouth as he set her free from her top, the sexual tension between them had been increasing for the past few weeks, and they simply couldn't control themselves any longer.

"You are breathtakingly beautiful, you know that? You always have been!" He whispered in her ear as he captured her ear lobe gently with his mouth, and he pressed gentle kisses on her neck and collarbone.

"Oh God, Aaron." She moaned softly, closing her eyes.

His hand slowly slid down her legs…he could feel how wet and hot she was, and he couldn't stop himself from sliding one finger inside her wet core.

Emily arched her back moaning softly at the feel of his finger. He smiled, watching her melt under his touch while he played with her for a bit with his finger. Then he stopped, pulling his finger out and licking it hungrily. He then removed her shorts and underwear and returned to her, kissing her breast and pulling the puckered nipples into her mouth, biting the soft flesh almost too hard.

Aaron started trailing wet kisses down her body again, through the valley of her breasts and her toned abdomen. When he finally reached her hot center, he could smell her desire, and that just turned him on even more. He reached between her folds with his tongue making her whimper, and making her breathing become erratic. He licked her slit from back to front completely watching her closed eyes and watching the pleasure he was giving her. He slid his finger inside her again, and then a second one, curving his fingers to reach her g-spot, and when he began increasing the speed of his movements, Emily could feel her walls contracting, and she knew her orgasm was close. She didn't want to be too loud because they had a two-month old baby in the other room sleeping, but the sinful delicious things he was doing to her, it was almost impossible not to scream.

"Aaron, I am going to cum, please." She begged, however, he didn't stop, and a few seconds later, she came arching her back. Aaron finished drinking her sweet juices and returned to her mouth kissing her passionately, then lined himself at her entrance and slowly, very slowly, he slid himself into her entrance while keeping eye contact with her at all times. He knew after the surgery and her just giving birth, he had to be very careful with her. When he started to move, she opened her eyes to look at him, they didn't need any words, they were so into each other that it was overwhelming.

"I love you, Aaron." She whispered while kissing him.

"I love you, too, baby, I love you soo much."

Soon, he sped up his movements, while still being careful with her; they were both moaning frantically. He had missed her so much, the truth was they both had been so miserable while being away from each other, and they were both too stupid and stubborn to admit it.

"Oh God, baby, you feel so damn good." He whispered in her ear.

She wrapped her legs around his waist as his movement inside her became faster and stronger, making her moan and scream his name. Emily was very vocal in bed, and that turned him on so much…it always had.

Slowly, he reached between their joined bodies, rubbing his finger on her clit timing his movements inside her with his movement of her clit. One more time, Emily felt her walls begin to contract, and before she could say anything or do anything, she came again screaming his name.

"Oh, Aaron, I'm coming." She said, arching her back.

"Oh God, Em…Jesus." He stayed inside her, shooting his seed deep inside her, while trying to catch his breath. He lingered at her neck, placing soft, wet kisses there and watching the deep purple marks their lovemaking had left on her neck, but he didn't care, and he knew she wouldn't either.

'I love you." He said, still inside her, looking at her deeply.

"I love you, too." Their mouths joined again for a passionate kiss, before he slid out of her and collapsed on the bed. He brought her into his arms making her rest on his chest, their breaths still catching. It was only a few moments of peace until their breaths evened out.

They heard the wailing from the monitor pull them out from the sweet embrace they were wrapped in. Aaron laughed as he felt Emily grumble.

"Stay in bed, sweetheart, I'll get him." He said, pressing a kiss to Emily's forehead.

"He's probably hungry."

"I'll bring him over here if he is, but I'm sure it's just a diaper change…he had almost 8 ounces of formula before I put him to bed, I'm pretty sure he's not hungry." Aaron said, kissing her lips.

Emily look at him surprised, normally, Nicholas only drank about 4 ounces of breast milk each feeding, but they were alternating him with formula sometimes as well.

"Go to sleep, love, I'll be right back."

Emily smiled and snuggled into the covers as she heard the man she was falling for hard again leave the room; she heard him talking in the monitor with Nicholas for a few minutes. He was so amazing with him, and with her. She was so lucky to have Aaron by her side, he was making things so much easier for her, even if he was working the majority of the time.

A few minutes later, she felt Aaron climb into the bed with her and pull her close to him.

"Is he okay." She whispered sleepily.

"Yeah, baby, he is back asleep; it was just a diaper he wasn't happy sleeping in.

"I love you, Aaron." Emily said, turning on her side and cuddling on his chest.

"I love you, too, sweetie." He said, kissing her forehead.


	17. Chapter 17

Fatherless

Chapter 17: The Man of my Dreams

"Come on Nick this is the last one" Emily said sweetly as she pushed the spoon of pea puree into Nicholas mouth.

Nick finished eating the offered meal, and his chubby cheeks gave her mother a green smile at least a gummy one. He had a few teeth coming out but his gums were still the perfect smile Emily saw every morning.

"That is it my boy, you are such a good boy aren't you" Emily said wiping his face and his hands taking away any residues of the pea puree her mother had been feeding him.

Nick just cooed and reached out his little hands for his mother to pick him up from the high chair he had been sitting on. Emily smiled widely taking her son and bringing him into her hugging him closer to her.

"Are you ready for your bath my love or shall we wait for daddy?" she asked kissing her baby boy's chubby cheeks.

Nick just cooed bouncing on her mother's arms contently and snugging on her chest. He was almost eight months now he had been growing as healthy as any parent will want. He weight was perfect even in more health than most toddlers his age. Natalie often joked that Nicholas look just like Aaron when he was a baby all chubby and adorable. Something that Aaron was not a big fan of, it wasn't that Nick was overweighed he simply was quite chubby for his age. The doctors seem to think it was normal and he was in perfect health.

Things had been busy for Emily and Aaron since their son had been born. Emily was back to work now and Natalie was babysitting Nick when his parents where away on a case. Something they were both very grateful for, because they definitely needed the help and Nick was in the best hands possible. Emily didn't want to leave their baby with just anyone, but Aaron's mother was the best person and she trusted her completely because she knew she couldn't leave Nicholas in better hands.

Work had been quite stressful and she hadn't really had a chance to get much sleep, which was probably what she felt so tired and drained. That, and having a eight month old in the house, of course Nicholas was becoming such a better baby and he slept all night and only woke up rarely during the night to be changed or to be nursed but he mostly sleep all night long. Emily was happy for that, getting used to motherhood had been very difficult even with having Natalie's and Aarons help. That was probably why she was completely tired because over the past eight months her whole focus had been her son and she loved that but she was a little tired.

Nicholas felt sleep on her arms and she figured she would give him a bath when Aaron returned home, later that afternoon. They like to do that kind of things together and spend time with their son. She had the day off but Aaron had been having meetings all morning so he had been at Quantico most of the day. Emily walked into the kitchen and turned on the kettle on, she figured some hot tea would help her feel less tired and relax some, the she could wait for Aaron so they could have dinner together and bath their baby boy then go to sleep.

As she waited on the kitchen island for the tea to be ready her mind started wandering around the last week events. She had been feeling under the whether lately she wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep but she had been feeling quite emotional and even more exhausted that she usually let on. Then another thought crept her mind, she had only felt this once before, right about year and a half ago or so.

"Oh shit" she murmured and she turned the kettle of. Rushing into her bathroom she walked inside and reached for the last drawer, on the very back an old box lay abandoned. She pulled out and look at it with and scare face, there was still one test left, she had taken once on the past. She took a depth breath; this couldn't be happening right now, this was not possible. It took her a while to convince her self to take the test but when she finally did, she was almost shaking. A few minutes later she was there in her bathroom staring at the white stick with a terrified face.

When the two pink strips flashed back at her tears pooled on her eyes.

"Oh my god no!" She cried as she covered her mouth. They weren't ready for another baby not now anyway. It was hard enough to leave Nick with Aaron's mother all the time and things were difficult enough as they were, this couldn't be happening right now.

She threw the test on the garbage and she washed her hands heading back into the leaving room. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to Aaron; what if he left her when he found out she was pregnant again. She sat on the living room and curled up hiding her face on her knees. How in the hell had she been so stupid as to get pregnant again?

A while later she heard the door opening and Aaron walked inside, she had been crying for a while now; she wasn't even sure how much. Aaron waked inside the apartment and found Emily on the corner of the couch with her face hiding on her knees.

"Emily baby? Is everything okay? He rushed to her side in matter of seconds with a scared face.

"Honey what is going is everything okay? What happened? is Nick okay?' He asked terrified

"Nick is fine" She said her face still hiding from him.

"Then what is going on?" He asked running a hand over her head softly

"You are going to hate me" She said softly looking up to meet his eyes, she was terrified to tell him but she knew she had to tell him. When Aaron looked into her eyes his heart broke into a million pieces. Her eyes were swollen and her face was covered in tears.

"Sweetheart what happened? You are scaring me Em!"

"I am pregnant" Emily blurted out hiding her face again, waiting for Aaron to start screaming at her. Telling her how irresponsible she was, and how could she have let that happened, but none of that happen to her surprise.

"And you are crying because of that?" Aaron asked confused and amused at the same time.

"Aaron we are not ready for another baby, Nicholas is still very little, and we both work all the time, and you probably don't want another baby with me and I have to work every day and leave our kid already and then with another kid is going to be so hard" tears started spilling over her eyes again as she spoke.

"Hey baby stop" Aaron demanded pulling her close to him

"First of all you just made me the happiest man on earth, are kidding me? another baby?" He asked happily looking at her

"I mean yeah, we are not ready but who is ever ready for this Emily?" and Nicholas is little, yes but we can do this by the time the new baby is born Nick will be a year and a half or so. It will be perfect they can play together and grow together" Aaron said with a smile and he wiped the tears on the brunettes eyes

"You aren't mad?" Emily asked confused with tears rolling down her eyes

"Are you kidding me? Why will I be mad? We have created life again sweetheart this is a gift" He said kissing her lips

"Aaron" Emily tried to protest shaking her head

"Emily, I love you, I love you more than anything in this world I want to spend the rest of my life with you. This just means our little family is growing"

"But we are still working on us, on everything that happened and then this happened"

"Well yeah technically, but that doesn't mean we aren't ready to take the next step..."

"What do you mean" She asked confused sniffling. Aaron smiled and reached for his briefcase and pulled out something from it. It was a small black velvet box.

"I been looking for the perfect moment to give you this. I wasn't sure when but it seems like now is the perfect moment" he said looking at her wet eyes

"Emily Prentiss will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and the mother of my children" He asked opening the box and reveling a four-carat white gold European cut engagement ring.

"Aaron" Emily whispered as more tears rolled down her eyes

"I love you more than anything and I want to spend the rest of my life with you" he said caressing her cheek and wiping away her tears

"Aaron" Emily said with a sob unable to contain the tears

"Marry me Em"

"Yes" she said with a sob and he placed the ring on her finger then he pulled her into his arms holding her close.

"I was so scared you would be upset and you would leave me" she admitted after a while"

"You are kidding me right? Emily the best gift you could give me was Nick I would be completely blessed to have a little baby girl with your eyes and that gorgeous face"

"I love you" Emily said in a whisper

"I love you too baby" he said pulling her for a hug. "I love you and Nick and now this little one we have on the way" he said placing his hand on her stomach

Emily just smiled kindly at him more relax as her sobs started to subside.

"This time I will be there for you, every single appointment and every check up, all of it I don't want to miss a single moment of my child's life"

"I will love that" Emily said kissing his lips; he deepened the kiss when they were interrupted by the crying of the monitor.

"You can start now daddy, Nick needs a shower" Emily teased as she got up Aaron just laughed kissing her lips and the just headed towards the nursery with a big smile on his face. Being a father had been the best gift he have ever receive first Jack, and now Nicholas, and now he had another baby on the way he couldn't be more blessed.

"I will start warming dinner for you honey" she called out as she headed into the kitchen calmer that she had been that afternoon.

Maybe things happened for a reason and it was just her time to have another baby and have her fairy tale with the man of her dreams.


End file.
